LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her sixth State of the State address Wednesday evening in Lansing.
"We composed this record thanks to the people in this room and every Michigander at home," Gov. Whitmer said as she touted her administration's accomplishments over the last year. "We are a state of humble, hardworking people with big dreams for our children. This year, let's keep rocking so everyone can have their own classic Michigan story."
Wednesday’s speech focused on the governor's plans to lower costs, improve education and ensure anyone can "make it" in Michigan.
Make it in Michigan
Governor Whitmer says companies are bringing supply chains back to America and, especially, Michigan. She says to keep winning this race for the future, Michigan needs to upgrade its bipartisan economic development toolkit with the following:
- R&D Tax Credit: Unleash innovation while lowering costs for businesses.
- HIRE Michigan: Lower overall payroll taxes for these firms.
- Renaissance Zones: Spur investment in areas of the state that are too often left out of left behind by lowering the cost of doing business in them.
- Innovation Fund: Invest in early-stage start-ups, help launch hundreds of Michigan-based companies and create thousands of jobs.
"An R&D Tax Credit will unleash innovation while lowering costs for businesses. Let's get it done," Gov. Whitmer said during her address. "Let's start the HIRE Michigan Fund to lower overall payroll taxes for these firms."
Watch the full State of the State address below:
Additionally, Governor Whitmer laid out her plans for housing, a tax credit for caregivers, pre-K for all and rebuilding Michigan.
Housing
Michigan will make the largest investment in state history to build housing. It will allocate nearly $1.4 billion to build or rehabilitate nearly 10,000 homes, which is ten times what the state invested to build housing ten years ago. The administration says building more of every kind of housing — single family homes, apartments and mixed-use buildings — will expand supply and lower costs.
"In other words, the rent is too damn high and we don't have enough damn housing!"
Caregiver Tax Credit
Governor Whitmer proposed the new Caring for MI Family Tax Credit to save thousands of Michigan families up to $5,000 off their taxes. The proposal covers caregiving expenses, including counseling, transportation and nursing or respite services.
Pre-K for All
The governor wants to provide access to free pre-K for every single four-year-old in Michigan as part of the state's next budget. Her office says free pre-K saves families an average of $10,000 a year and helps students build a solid academic foundation for long-term success, improving literacy rates and closing achievement gaps. Pre-K investments will aim to attract employers looking to expand or relocate to Michigan by giving parents more safe, affordable options for their kids when they go to work.
Rebuilding Michigan
Governor Whitmer, during her speech, called on the Michigan Department of Transportation to authorize the final $700 million of the Rebuilding Michigan Plan. The five-year, $3.5 billion plan has focused on fixing Michigan's most economically critical roads while supporting more than 45,000 jobs without raising taxes, according to the governor's office. The final round of bonding projects include I-94 near Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, I-696 from Southfield through Warren and a bridge in Erie Township.
"Since I took office, we have fixed 20,000 lane miles of road and 1,400 bridges — supporting 118,000 good-paying jobs."
Governor Whitmer also used this time to urge state lawmakers to pass legislation that would provide free community college tuition for all high school graduates.
"In our next budget, let's make the first two years of community college in Michigan tuition-free for every high school graduate," Gov. Whitmer said during Wednesday's address.
She prioritized community college access in her annual address last year, too.
RELATED: Whitmer signs 2024 education budget; includes free school meals, expanded free pre-K
FOX 17 caught up with Senator Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) after the governor's address, and she said she was pleased and is especially looking forward to continuing to improve education in Michigan.
"We're excited to hear more effort on the continuity between what happens in early childhood education all the way through that associate's degree, making sure that that's just a normal course of education for every person in Michigan. It's just a game changer for making sure that they're set up for those good careers in the future," Sen. Brinks added.
State Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Kent County) also stressed education improvements when we talked with him after the address.
"I'm very hopeful we'll be able to come up with some solutions for education that really help to expand education choice and stop pigeonholing education to zip codes. That's what I'm hopeful for. Whether or not that's going to succeed, I don't know," Rep. Posthumus said. "Along the same lines with education, I think we really do have to address the teacher shortage. Last session period, I introduced an [18-bill package] to address the teacher shortage and hopefully we can move in the right direction there."
The Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes released the following statement about Governor Whitmer's State of the State address:
"The Whitmer-Gilchrist administration and Michigan Democrats are once again proving that they will fight for the needs of all Michiganders, especially when it comes to lowering housing costs, investing in education and leading a national manufacturing renaissance. While Democrats are giving everyone the opportunity to make it in Michigan, Republicans are doing everything they can to stand in the way of progress.
"Michigan Republicans have spent the last year embroiled in one controversy after another, with nothing to show for it, abandoning their constituents in favor of right-wing conspiracy theories and extremism. They are dead-set on implementing a MAGA agenda that will fail our state instead of creating a future that uplifts all Michiganders. While the Michigan GOP refuses to come to the table and to deliver for our people, Democrats will continue to serve our great state and get the job done, no matter what."
However, Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) had a much different message following the State of the State address:
“Gov. Whitmer painted a picture of the state of our state at odds with the reality most Michiganders are facing. She took a victory lap and patter herself on the back while many of our family members, friends and neighbors continue to struggle. This was the speech of someone who has spent too much time in the Lansing bubble – someone who doesn’t worry about the price of groceries, or heating her home in the winter or whether her kids can catch up in school.
“The governor insists that Bidenomics is working, but Michigan’s unemployment rate and median household income are among the worst in the nation. For most families, any increase in pay has been wiped out by inflation. Thousands of our friends and neighbors continue to seek better jobs, better schools and better opportunities elsewhere as Michigan sits at 46th out of 50 states for population growth. This is the real state of our state, but it doesn’t have to be.
“Republicans believe hardworking taxpayers know how to spend their money better than the government does and we’ll keep fighting Democrats in Lansing who want to raise taxes on Michigan businesses and families. Republicans know we must invest in responsible energy sources that ensure our lights, heat and cars turn on regardless of whether the wind is blowing or how cold it is during Michigan winters, not California-style Green New Deal schemes that will make our energy more expensive and less reliable. We refuse to accept Michigan being a bottom ten state for educational outcomes. Instead of doing away with reading standards and school accountability as Democrats have done this past year, we’ll fight to give students, teachers and parents the support they need to get our schools into the top ten.
“We have a vision for Michigan that puts communities, schools and families first, ahead of bigger state government, special interests and ambitions for higher office. Michiganders living every day under the harmful policies of Gov. Whitmer and President Biden deserve better.”
