While Michigan experts and policymakers aim to fight the state’s declining population and economic development, some business and political teams are banding together to oppose the proposed efforts through the Democratic-led Legislature.
Great Lakes Growth was founded through the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Grand Rapids Chamber, the Michigan Bankers Association, and the West Michigan Policy Forum. The organization announced in October and opposed a series of proposals by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative Democrats that it said would stifle the state’s economic growth.
Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the coalition was formed to magnify the voices of its members running to find interim policy solutions, as well as small business owners frustrated with the ” anti-growth”. corporate policies” pending in the Legislative Assembly.
“There seems to be this sentiment in Lansing these days that there’s a fundamental choice: you either need to be pro-business or pro-worker. And the Great Lakes Growth coalition just fundamentally disagrees that it’s [an] ‘or’ decision,” Block said.
“You can’t be pro-worker without being pro-jobs and pro-business, right? The two have to work together for the economic success of our state,” Block said.
While the members of the coalition share Whitmer’s vision of growing Michigan’s population and making the state a place everyone wants to call home, some of the policies proposed by the Legislature are putting past economic and population growth at risk, Block said.
The collective of industrial and economic policy teams focused their initial efforts on four key policy areas, building separate coalitions for each.
Great Lakes Growth’s United Against Workplace Mandates coalition aims to counter a proposed national family and medical leave program presented in Whitmer’s “What’s Next” speech in August. The Career Freedom Coalition is rejecting a pending law that it says would hurt independent contractors and the MI Job Certainty Coalition opposes spending to repeal a Gov. Rick Snyder-era preference that prevents local governments from setting their own hard-work criteria and policies.
Of the four coalitions, Great Lakes Growth’s Coalition for Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy has been particularly active, as Democrats have worked to promote 100 percent blank power popular among energy providers and introduce adjustments to allow for large-scale renewable energy projects.
Great Lakes Growth strongly opposed the energy policy changes, concerned about their viability and their effect on energy reliability and affordability, but not all Michigan businesses opposed it. In late September, an organization of 15 companies, including German generation conglomerate Siemens, several Michigan-based breweries, IKEA US, REI, and several blank energy and sustainability companies, such as Detroit-based Walker-Miller Energy Services, signed a letter of help. for a one hundred percent blank energy standard.
The policies were signed into law through Whitmer on Tuesday in Detroit.
While the bill was sent to the governor’s office in a form the coalition could not support, the coalition is focused on how it can influence long-term policy debates, Block said.
“We’re not going to resurrect old fights. Like we’re never going to see each other communicate about the right to paintings or anything like that,” Block said.
Earlier this year, Whitmer signed a right-to-work repeal, which was opposed by several business groups, adding the Michigan House, which argued the policy helped make Michigan a more worker-friendly state. business. The right-to-work bill was signed by Snyder, a Republican, in 2012 after vehement protests from unions.
While many of the policies the coalition opposed were not sent to the governor’s office before the year’s legislature adjourned, Block highlighted other spaces for the coalition, adding that barriers to employment, such as affordable child care, affordable housing and affordable housing, were addressed. , reliable transportation. .
“I think these are things where both sides of the aisle can come together, and that’s where we hope the legislature evolves in the future,” Block said.
While not unanimous, several coalition members, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, were also in favor of education and progression tax credits introduced toward the end of this year’s legislative session, Block said.
Although the bill passed the House with bipartisan support, the spending did not make it to the Senate.
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by Kyle Davidson, Michigan Advance November 30, 2023
While Michigan experts and policymakers aim to fight the state’s declining population and economic development, some business and political teams are banding together to oppose the proposed efforts through the Democratic-led Legislature.
Great Lakes Growth was founded through the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Grand Rapids Chamber, the Michigan Bankers Association, and the West Michigan Policy Forum. The organization announced in October and has opposed a number of proposals. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative Democrats who he said would stifle the state’s economic growth.
Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the coalition was formed to magnify the voices of its members running to find interim policy solutions, as well as small business owners frustrated with the ” anti-growth”. corporate policies” pending in the Legislative Assembly.
“It turns out that in Lansing in those days there was a sense that a basic choice was to be pro-business or to be pro-labor. And the Great Lakes Growth Coalition just fundamentally disagrees that this be an ‘or’ decision,” Block said. saying.
“You can’t be in favor of painting without being in favor of jobs and business, right?The two will have to work in combination for the economic good fortune of our state,” Block said.
While coalition members share Whitmer’s vision of expanding Michigan’s population and making the state a place everyone can call home, some of the policies proposed through the legislature endanger more than just economic growth. and population, Block said.
The collective of industrial and economic policy teams focused their initial efforts on four key policy areas, building separate coalitions for each.
Great Lakes Growth’s United Against Workplace Mandates coalition aims to counter a proposed national family and medical leave program presented in Whitmer’s “What’s Next” speech in August. The Career Freedom Coalition is rejecting a pending law that it says would hurt independent contractors and the MI Job Certainty Coalition opposes spending to repeal a Gov. Rick Snyder-era preference that prevents local governments from setting their own hard-work criteria and policies.
Of the four coalitions, Great Lakes Growth’s Coalition for Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy has been particularly active, as Democrats have worked to promote 100 percent blank power popular among energy providers and introduce adjustments to allow for large-scale renewable energy projects.
Great Lakes Growth strongly opposed the energy policy changes, worrying about their viability and their effect on energy reliability and affordability, but not all Michigan businesses opposed it. In late September, an organization of 15 companies, including German tech conglomerate Siemens, several Michigan-based breweries and U. S. breweries, and a U. S. -based brewery called on the U. S. U. S. , IKEA US, REI, and several sustainability and blank energy corporations, such as Detroit-based Walker-Miller Energy Services, signed a letter of help for a 100 percent blank energy standard.
The policies were signed into law through Whitmer on Tuesday in Detroit.
While the bill was sent to the governor’s office in a form the coalition could not support, the coalition is focused on how it can influence long-term policy debates, Block said.
“We’re not going to rehash old fights. Like you will never see us talking about Right to Work or anything like that,” Block said.
Earlier this year, Whitmer signed a right-to-work repeal, which was opposed by several business groups, adding the Michigan House, which argued the policy helped make Michigan a more worker-friendly state. business. The right-to-work bill was signed by Snyder, a Republican, in 2012 after vehement protests from unions.
While many of the policies the coalition opposed were not sent to the governor’s office before the year’s legislature adjourned, Block highlighted other spaces for the coalition, adding that barriers to employment, such as affordable child care, affordable housing and affordable housing, were addressed. , reliable transportation. .
“Those are things where I think both sides of the aisle can come together, and that’s really where we’re hoping that the Legislature will move in the future,” Block said.
While support isn’t unanimous, a number of coalition members — including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce — were also supportive of a research and development tax credit introduced near the end of this year’s legislative session, Block said.
Although the bill passed the House with bipartisan support, the spending did not make it to the Senate.
“[The R&D tax credit] will attract more high-wage paying jobs to our state. It can help attract many of our young people or keep them in our state after they graduate from our world-class universities. So that can be a win for the business community and employees alike,” Block said.
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Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: [email protected]. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.
Kyle Davidson covers state government alongside health care, business and the environment. A graduate of Michigan State University, Kyle studied journalism and political science. He previously covered community events, breaking news, state policy and the environment for outlets including the Lansing State Journal, the Detroit Free Press and Capital News Service.
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