While Gov. Whitmer has promised to tackle road repairs in Michigan through bond programs, not everyone is along for the ride. In fact, as is typically the case, responses are already rolling in on multiple fronts regarding the Governor’s State of the State Address.
The Small Business Association of Michigan — SBAM — was among the first to respond, as President Brian Calley the following statement:
“Borrowing to fix roads is the worst kind of shell game. A generational shell game where our kids get screwed. This is exactly the way we got into this mess in the first place. It’s not a solution, it just transfers the problem to the next Governor who will grapple with bad roads in addition to an extraordinarily high amount of new long term debt.
“In fact, the proposed problem (incorrectly labeled as a solution) will diminish the ability of the next 3 to 5 Governors to “fix the damn roads.” The last time the state went on a borrowing spree for roads, it only maintained good roads for four years. And then we experienced a rapid deterioration because the loan payments came due and not enough money was left over for maintenance. With this level of borrowing it will be far worse.
“It’s way too early for the Governor to be waving the white flag on a real road solution. If she goes through with this, it virtually guarantees a very bad future for our roads and bridges and eliminates any real chance of a permanent fix while she is in office. Instead of “fix the damn roads,” it is now “let the next damn Governor figure it out.
“Alternatively, SBAM does support Governor Whitmer’s efforts to make high-quality, affordable childcare more accessible for Michiganders. We consistently hear from small businesses, which make up 70 percent of the employment in our state, that lack of childcare is a barrier to people entering the workforce. We appreciate the Governor’s commitment to this important issue and look forward to working with her team on her proposal and additional solutions to expand access to high quality, affordable daycare.
“Lastly, SBAM continues to support expanded community college access as a scaled response to filling the talent shortages in the workforce. Passage of Reconnect should be coupled with restoration of Going Pro. This should be an area where a bipartisan deal can be reached.”
Charles Owens, NFIB State Director in Michigan and spokesperson for nearly 10,000 members across the state, looks forward to working with the Governor on issues where her proposals align with NFIB’s 2020 small business agenda.
The long running debate over road funding was one of the first items addressed by the Governor, who confirmed she will look at bonding after her 45 cents a gallon tax proposal failed to gain traction last year. Owens says, “While we applaud the Governor for abandoning her unrealistic fuel tax proposal, we will be checking in with our small business members to see if they support the bonding approach,” and added that the key to a successful proposal is the absence of something that should be obvious. The governor should not try and fund non-road budget items in a road proposal.
Owens says, “While small business owners recognize the importance of quality roads, there is well deserved skepticism towards proposals that claim to be for road funding but end up diverting revenue into other projects that have nothing to do with roads
The Governor also called for increased protections for workers from payroll and overtime fraud, saying employees who work more than 40 hours a week should receive overtime. Owens says small business is in total agreement with the Governor, saying, “Employers that intentionally violate our wage and hour laws should suffer the consequences,” and adding, “Unfortunately, the Governor is going about it the wrong way, using the rules process to expand overtime eligibility. The Whitmer administration seems more interested in playing ‘gotcha’ when an employer makes an honest mistake in complying with complex payroll laws.” Owens cited a recent example where the Attorney General made a fraud accusation and public example of an employer who was already working with federal authorities to resolve a payroll error.
As for the Governor’s call to restart the Michigan Reconnect program to retrain adults for jobs in demand, Owens agreed that filling jobs with qualified workers continues to be a major concern for small business. However, he reiterates the key phase “jobs in demand,” saying, “Proposals that seek to throw more money at the same institutions responsible for the skills shortfall without accountability or reliable measures for success are not going to work.”
State Rep. Pauline Wendzel issued the following statements on Governor Whitmer’s second State of the State address.
“Governor Whitmer just doesn’t get it. Hyper-partisanship has plagued Washington D.C. and look where it’s gotten us. Instead of throwing bombs at Republicans, Governor Whitmer should quit kow-towing to Nancy Pelosi and D.C. Democrats and try leading our state.”
“Before we ask hardworking Michiganders for more of their hard-earned tax dollars, we must ensure every penny paid at the pump goes towards our roads. After slashing nearly $400 million in additional road funding, The Governor’s plan to saddle future generations with mountains of debt is NOT a viable solution to this problem.”
Governor Whitmer ended her speech by asking a rhetorical question about what a woman wants. Rep. Wendzel responded, “This woman wants lower auto insurance rates, better schools, better roads, and safe drinking water. This woman wants to prioritize our budget and invest in our state’s priorities. This woman doesn’t want to raise taxes on hardworking Michiganders and saddle them with mountains of debt.”
Rep. Wendzel finished with the following statement, “The Legislature delivered historical auto-insurance reform in spite of Governor Whitmer, not because of her. Michigan deserves a governor who leads, not one that throws punches.”
State Rep. Beth Griffin, of Mattawan, issued the following response to Gov. Whitmer’s State of the State by declaring her plan to bond roughly $3.5 billion for road funding over upcoming years as a “misstep.” She says:
“Just one year ago, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put forward one of the most unpopular policy proposals in the history of our state: A massive 45-cent per gallon gas tax increase which would have cost many Michigan drivers up to $10 more each time they filled up. It was a failed plan that not even the governor’s own party could rally behind.
“Gov. Whitmer has now opted to take out a multi-billion dollar loan the people of Michigan never approved, nor can afford.
“Bonding is a short-term fix with long-term consequences. While the money is made available immediately, it still requires Michigan families to pay the money back. In fact, Michigan is still paying off billions in road bonding debt from nearly 20 years ago, and will not fully pay it off for another 20.
“All the governor’s road bonding ‘solution’ will accomplish is fixing limited portions of U.S. 131 and I-94 as bonding can only be allotted toward state-owned roads. That means thousands of southwest Michigan families will still experience vehicle wear and tear while driving on local roads.
“We’ve been down the bonding road before. It isn’t pretty and will lead to decades of paying down debt. I hope the governor rethinks this decision before actually taking it. If she doesn’t, Michigan’s future generations will be left picking up the pieces.”
State Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, issued the following statement in response to Gov. Whitmer’s 2020 State of the State address:
“We were successful last year in passing a law that will significantly lower auto insurance rates, but unfortunately the governor refused to work together on the budget, insisted on massive tax increases, and cut $400 million in road funding.
“What matters far more than a speech are actions. I hope we can work together to continue building a healthy economy, protecting taxpayers, repairing our roads, paying down debt, and supporting quality education.”
The following is a statement from Robert LeFevre, President of Michigan Independent Colleges & Universities, responding to Governor Whitmer’s State of the State message, which called for increasing the number of adults with a postsecondary education credential to 60 percent by 2030:
“The Governor’s goal is vitally important to advancing our state now and in the future. Unless Michigan can quickly enhance the skills and credentials of its workforce, we risk being left behind economically. We must make access and affordability of higher education a top priority.
“Our schools look forward to collaborating with the Governor to make this lofty goal a concrete reality. We offer grants and scholarships to 81-percent of our students, and award more than 12,000 bachelor’s degrees every year. Nearly half of the degrees we award are earned by individuals 25 years and older, and we are first to work with veterans.
“Michigan’s independent colleges and universities are eager to help attract and retain the skilled, educated talent Michigan needs—and we are ready to roll up our sleeves today.”
In her second State of the State address, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer spoke to the critical needs of ensuring that students are prepared to learn as they enter school, and ready for success as they graduate high school. The following statement comes from Amber Arellano, Executive Director of The Education Trust-Midwest:
“This year, Governor Whitmer rightly focused on the need to better support students and families during the major transitions into elementary school and out of high school. With the important goals of improving early literacy rates and postsecondary enrollment, this focus makes sense.
“Michigan’s third-grade reading rates have been widely recognized by members of both political parties as at a crisis point. Last year, fewer than half of all students at the end of grade three were reading and writing at grade level. The impact of this crisis falls the hardest on students from low-income families and students of color. While significant investments have been made in this area, we have not yet seen significantly better outcomes for students.
“Since late 2018, The Education Trust-Midwest and Detroit Parent Network have worked to help parents better understand their rights under Michigan’s third grade reading law, with the support of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation. The need for this work in communities across the state is undeniable, and we are pleased to see this type of collaboration highlighted in Governor Whitmer’s announcement today.
“As students graduate high school, too few are equipped with the information that they need to make sound financial decisions about trade school, community college and four-year degree paths. Increasing the rate of Michigan students completing their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a critical first step toward ensuring that Michigan students have the best information about financial support for attending postsecondary. While our organization’s ultimate goal is ensuring that every high school graduate either completes a FAFSA or no-reason parent waiver, innovative strategies to further incentivize FAFSA completion is an important first step.”
The Michigan Democratic Party released the following statement on behalf of Chair Lavora Barnes on Governor Whitmer’s State of the State Address:
“I’m so proud of Governor Whitmer for taking a stand for Michigan’s working families today as she highlighted the critical steps needed to grow jobs, invest in education, protect against attacks on our health care, and fix the damn roads. The policies she outlined are necessary and urgent if we’re going to help communities in every corner of Michigan thrive. Our state can’t afford more inaction and our families can’t go another year while politicians play political games and critical problems go unaddressed. Instead of standing in her way at every turn, I urge legislators to get serious and partner with the Governor to build a Michigan that works for middle class families.”
