LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Governor Governor Whitmer kicked off her sixth State of the State Address by highlighting what she believes are the state’s previous legislative accomplishments. 

Whitmer’s recap.

Much of her address focused on Michigan’s work in the realm of the state’s economy, education, and equal opportunity for its residents.  

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In 2023, the state focused on reducing costs for the youngest of all public school students, while this year she added focus to Michigan’s teenagers and beyond by pledging “every Michigander can count on free education from pre-k through community college.” 

“But we know education in Michigan needs work,” said Gov. Whitmer. “We want student outcomes to exceed expectations. We need to better prepare students for success after they graduate, whether they enter the workforce, community college, trade school, or a 4-year university. There is no “correct” path. It all depends on the person. What we can do is get them ready.” 

Whitmer said she can’t “solve global inflation.”

Gov. Whitmer focused on addressing increased costs while admitting that she alone could not “solve global inflation.” 

“What we can do is make life more affordable by lowering costs on the biggest items in your monthly budget,” she said. “When your paycheck hits your bank account, you know your largest and most important expenses: housing, child care, transportation, education, utilities, and food.” 

She also encouraged the whole legislative chamber to support the states’s “ongoing transition to an all-electic, union made future.”

“We are competing and winning the future of the auto industry, making cars, semiconductors, and batteries here instead of China,” Gov. Whitmer said. 

Whitmer pivots away from Gotion and Ford BlueOval in speech.

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While previously highlighting the Gotion High-Tech and Ford BlueOval Battery park projects in former addresses, Gov. Whitmer did not mention either, instead focusing on: 

  • Calumet Electronics in the Keweenaw Peninsula 
  • Nel Hydrogen’s gigafactory in Plymouth Charter Township  
  • Scout Motors’ R&D hub in Novi  
  • Fortescue’s battery plant in Detroit 
  • Hydro’s aluminum recycling facility in Cassopolis  
  • SK Siltron’s semiconductor wafer plant in Bay City

 Gov. Whitmer drew attention to Michigan’s increasing housing costs, suggesting that a new approach is necessary: investing in building new homes and rehabilitating current ones. 

“In 2024, we will make the largest investment to build housing in Michigan history,” said Whitmer. “We will invest almost $1.4 billion to build or rehabilitate nearly 10,000 homes. That’s 10 times what we put into housing just 10 years ago. Getting this done will support thousands of good-paying, middle-class jobs in the skilled trades—from pipefitters and carpenters to bricklayers and roofers.” 

Republicans hold applause for the majority; leadership responds. 

Michigan House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) expressed his criticisms for the lack of strategy shared during the address. 

“Budgets are about priorities, and Gretchen Whitmer has failed to prioritize our crumbling local roads in her massive budget,” Rep. Hall said in a statement. “Five years into office, the governor who ran on fixing the roads still has no solution for our infrastructure needs, so all she can do is brag about going into debt for a program that does nothing for the county roads and city streets that are in the worst condition. Her own population council highlighted that ‘Without action, infrastructure outcomes are projected to decline.” 

Minority Leader Hall and Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) shared concerns regarding the state’s return on investment for education spending. 

“Students’ education is also in decline,” Rep. Hall said in a statement. “As the governor’s council noted, seven out of 10 Michigan students can’t read or do math proficiently, even as Democrats’ budget spent a record $21.5 billion on K-12 schools. Yet the governor has no plan to address student performance, and she has undermined education standards to reward her union boss allies.”