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ALPENA - Michigan House Representative Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, is the 106th district incumbent for this November's election. He said if re-elected, he would support a moratorium for data centers, property tax reform, and upgrades to state infrastructure, such as dams.
Cavitt is running against Democrat candidate Mary Hamilton in the upcoming election. Efforts were made to contact Hamilton for an interview but went unanswered.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DATA CENTERS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the growing demand for large scale data centers across the country have prompted debate from both sides of the aisle. Cavitt said that he would support a moratorium - a temporary pause or official suspension of a specific activity, law, or legal obligation - for data centers. However, he added that people shouldn't fear AI and should consider the growing threat of China and its rapidly developing AI infrastructure.
"I would support a moratorium. I would support a moratorium on wind and solar, also, while we come up with bigger regulations. But I would support that," he said.
"Whatever the government regulation is, we got to remember that we’re also battling with China. And China is not concerned about what regulatory system or schemes that we put on AI producers," he added. "So we definitely need to be careful, but we can't be fearful either."
AFFORDABILITY AND TAX REFORM
If re-elected, and if the Republicans retain the majority, Cavitt said the party's focus will be affordability and "kitchen table" issues. He also mentioned property tax reform as a focus of the party.
"Affordability, property tax reform ... the kitchen table, grocery store issues," he said. "If the Republicans retain the majority, you’re going to see some property tax reform be one of the first things we do."
INFRASTRUCTURE
Cavitt noted state infrastructure as a continuing issue to address, especially in terms of energy producing dam ownership and evaluations. He explained that the state is not always privy to the findings from the federal level in regards to the dams' infrastructure status.
"The state definitely needs to get involved ... there's a lot of complications to dam energy production on the regulatory side of that," he said. "It’s the federal government that regulates that, not necessarily the state. So if there’s safety problems with the dam, the state might not be privy to that information ... we don’t always know. So there needs to be better cooperation amongst our federal agencies with the state and local communities so we know what the condition of these dams are."
He said that privately owned dams that produce energy also complicates the regulatory system. "A lot of these are ... private dams. So how does that go?" he said. "We allow dams to back up public waterways. We need to start rethinking that. We can’t be held hostage by private entities."
He said that he's been participating in meetings with county commissioners, fellow state legislators, lake associations, and a stakeholder group forming to provide direction for policies regarding the state's watershed.
"More is going to come from that," he said.
BIPARTISAN SUCCESSES
Cavitt said that he's had two recent bipartisan successes on the House floor which helped get legislation passed.
The first was his HB 6007 which aims to protect children from fees to run lemonade stands at farmer's markets.
HB 6007 would remove certain restrictions on lemonade stands operated by minors that generate less than $5,000 in annual revenue, according to a press release from Cavitt's office. Currently, regulations and exemptions for lemonade stands vary across the state, with some local health departments requiring operators to obtain a license and pay a fee.
“Children in my community made me aware of this issue,” Cavitt said in the release. “The Mielke family was told that they would need to pay recurring fees to operate a lemonade stand at a local farmers market. That didn’t make sense then, and it doesn’t make sense now. Kids who start a small lemonade stand are trying to learn firsthand about hard work, responsibility, and entrepreneurship. We shouldn’t let these foundational life lessons get caught up in red tape.”
Another recent success Cavitt pointed to as receiving bi-partisan support was his
House Bill 5514 which aims to strengthen protections for children being transported to residential treatment programs.
The bill also prohibits companies from picking up children for transport in the overnight hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., helping ensure vulnerable youth are transported under safe and appropriate conditions, according to a press release from Cavitt’s office.
“Today, the state of Michigan is drawing a firm line to protect some of our most vulnerable,” Cavitt said in the release. “A difficult situation for a child should never be made more traumatic by the way they are transported. We have established clear expectations for transportation providers and given parents greater assurance that their children will be treated appropriately from the moment they leave home.”
Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.