This evening, before a joint convention of the legislature, Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her seventh State of the State. The governor reaffirmed her commitment to work together, find common ground, and work with leaders and members on both sides of the aisles. Her address focused on highlighting the work already completed that has helped the state and called for expansions or continuations of that work.
She pointed to the economic uncertainty faced by residents; the cost of housing continues to rise, and families are having a hard time paying their bills. She also pointed to the growing political division nationwide and in our state.
According to Governor Whitmer, the state of our state is strong, and it’s on everyone to make it stronger and kinder, too. However, there are three areas the governor would like to focus on this year:
-
- Costs – Make life more affordable
- Jobs – Create more opportunities
- Results – Make government work better for residents
Lowering costs is her top priority by tackling the biggest items in a family’s budget.
-
- Housing – In addition to state programs, the core issue of supply needs to be addressed. The state should invest $2 billion to build, buy, or fix nearly 11,000 homes.
- Wages – Governor Whitmer highlighted the bipartisan work completed recently changing the state’s minimum wage, tipped wage, and paid sick time.
- Healthcare – She called for relief for the nearly 700,000 residents with medical debt.
- Energy – She highlighted the work completed to expand the Michigan Energy Assistance Program.
- Taxes – Through work to roll back the retirement tax and quintuple the Working Families Tax Credit, there will be an average of $3,200 in savings for eligible families.
- Child care – If we want to grow our population, the state must continue to expand affordable child care statewide.
Jobs
-
- We need to make it as easy as possible for residents to get the skills or education needed to earn more money.
- She called for the largest investment in CTE within this year’s state budget.
- Governor Whitmer talked about the several programs that expanded access to programs but highlighted the gender gap within those programs with women outnumbering men 2-1.
- The governor will sign an executive directive to help reach young men and boost their participation in higher education and skills training programs.
- Safe roads are critical to the economy, ensuring residents can get to their jobs and that businesses can utilize our infrastructure for commerce.
- A long-term fix means new, fair sources of revenue
- Budget cuts need to be part of the solution
State Government Results
-
- Permitting has been broken, leading to slower construction, fewer jobs, and higher prices.
- State departments and agencies who’ve missed deadlines should refund any permitting fees they can under the law.
- She called on the legislature to work with her to simplify the permitting process.
- Licensing – Governor Whitmer directed the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to review all regulations and find redundant rules. The department proposed:
- Eliminating duplicate exams
- Honoring trade licenses
- Give entrepreneurs more flexibility
- Streamline reporting requirements
- Permitting has been broken, leading to slower construction, fewer jobs, and higher prices.
Governor Whitmer also touched on education, the good that has been done, and the work left to do. In addition to funding changes in this upcoming state budget, she’s also calling for legislation limiting cell phone usage in classrooms.
Lastly, the governor highlighted the bipartisan work that has been done over the past six to improve resident’s lives. She called for Michigan to be a leader in the nation, which is plagued by divisiveness and partisanship.
For more information on tonight’s address, please click here.
