LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday laid out his "road map" for addressing Michigan's ills, saying every resident must help the state be better at attracting jobs, educating students and getting more from the dollars it spends.
The new Republican governor said during his first State of the State address that he wasn't going to base his actions on what government has done in the past. Instead, he has set up 21 measures in key areas such as economic growth and health and education that he said he'll use to measure whether Michigan is making progress toward becoming healthier, safer, better educated and more entrepreneurial.
He already has a new website that will track the 21 measures.
"We will not continue the fighting that resulted in rhetoric and paralysis," said Snyder, a venture capitalist and former Gateway computer executive elected in November as a moderate. "It is time to solve problems."
Among his first orders of business will be to recommend in his mid-February budget proposal that the unpopular Michigan Business Tax be replaced by a 6 percent income tax on big corporations when the new tax year starts Oct. 1.
It could deepen the state's budget shortfall by as much as $1.5 billion. Michigan already faces a shortfall of around $1.8 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.
Business groups say they like the idea of lower taxes, but they're still waiting for specifics about how Snyder's new corporate tax would work.
Michigan's unemployment rate dropped to 11.7 percent in December, its lowest rate in nearly two years but still well above the national average. To help attract jobs, Snyder said the state needs to establish a new initiative to encourage immigrants with advanced college degrees to come to Michigan to work and live.
He also wants to build a new bridge across the Detroit River from Detroit to Windsor, Canada. He said the bridge is needed for trade with Canada and should create jobs. The Detroit International River Crossing project is opposed by the private owners of the nearby Ambassador Bridge, who have donated heavily to lawmakers in the past to block the new bridge. But Snyder asked lawmakers to approve it, and got a standing ovation from Democratic legislators, but not many Republicans.
| Reaction to Snyder's speech |
"Gov. Snyder's emphasis on job creation is exactly what Michigan needs-he gets it. Now it is time to deliver. And his use of objective statistics to judge Michigan's progress in the coming years is exactly the kind of accountability that will assure Michigan families their government is working for them."
- Attorney General Bill Schuette More reaction |
"Every farmer and manufacturer in the state can tell you why it is important to have world trade. This new bridge will create jobs, strengthen our economy and help establish Michigan as a hub for global commerce," Snyder said.
Snyder repeated his claim that schools, universities and state and local government have heavy pension and benefit costs that must be trimmed. He didn't say specifically how he would change that, but Republican lawmakers on Wednesday introduced bills that would require all public workers to pay 25 percent of their health care costs and trim all public pay by 5 percent.
Those changes likely would have to be negotiated with unions as contracts expired. Some of the changes may have to go to voters as a ballot issue if universities are to be included in the cuts.
The governor also said he wants to get rid of antiquated laws, such as one that requires retailers to put a price tag on every item in their stores. Michigan is one of only two states to still have an item-pricing law.
"It's bad for business and it's bad for consumers," he said. "Let's make item pricing one law that's out of stock."
Online: Michigan Dashboard: http://www.Michigan.gov/MiDashboard
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