LANSING, Mich – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touted economic successes and laid out her ambitions for the coming year during her seventh State of the State address Wednesday night.
She talked about the state’s budget surplus – the “rainy-day fund” – reaching an all-time high of $2.7 billion. She said this year’s budget will have helped the state pay down $26 billion in debt, growth the state’s GDP by 35 percent and added nearly 40,000 auto-industry jobs.
But she also warned that the 25-percent tariffs President Donald Trump is weighing on goods from Canada, perhaps the state’s biggest trade partner, could wreak havoc on all of it.
“Industry leaders and top economic minds on both sides of the aisle are warning us about the havoc that 25% tariffs would wreak on Michigan’s auto industry while raising everyday expenses for families,” Whitmer said in her speech, delivered to a joint session of the Legislature. “As I’ve said before, I’m not opposed to tariffs outright. But they’re a blunt tool when the Michigan economy is on the line. Twenty-five-percent tariffs on everything would slow down construction, shutter small businesses, lead to layoffs in the auto industry, and cost Michigan families an extra $1,200 a year at the store and the pump because companies will pass their higher costs on to (consumers). It would be a disaster.”
The bulk of her speech focused her plans to lower costs for Michigan families, create more good-paying Michigan jobs, and continue delivering results for Michigan taxpayers. The State of the State comes on the heels of her meeting with Trump, during which she advocated for Michigan manufacturing and military families.
“I’m excited to keep working across the aisle to lower costs, create jobs, and continue delivering results that make a real difference in people’s lives,” Whitmer said.“Right now, families and businesses are facing high costs and uncertainty from tariffs and our national politics are divided. Michiganders are tired of the games and want strong, bipartisan leadership. Let’s lead by example and show the rest of the country how to get things done.”
Her speech covered a variety of areas where she said there has already been success but “there’s still more to do.”
Among them:
- Wages: Whitmer touted the 11th-hour, bipartisan package she signed into law over the weekend that she said “forged a fair deal on minimum wage and paid sick time.
“Because we worked together, the minimum wage will rise to $15 an hour for more than 700,000 workers one year faster, the tipped minimum wage increased by the largest amount ever and will keep going up, workers will have more time to care for themselves and their families because Michigan now has the best earned sick time in the country and small businesses will have more flexibility,” she said.
- Roads: In 2020, Whitmer created Rebuilding Michigan, a $3.5 billion bond plan to fix our most heavily trafficked state highways and bridges. With Rebuilding Michigan phasing out soon, she said, road funding is facing a serious funding cliff. Whitmer is looking for a “sustainable, long-term solution for local roads.”
“I know there are a couple different plans out there, including mine, and I know none of them is perfect,” she said. “To get it right, we’ll all have to recognize some hard truths. To my friends in the GOP, a long-term fix means new, fair sources of revenue. We can’t cut our way to better roads by slashing public safety, health, or schools.
“To my fellow Democrats, cuts will need to be a part of the solution … To the business community, we can’t put this on the backs of the middle class,” she added. “For all of us to be part of the solution we must all compromise. That’s the way it ought to be.”
- Housing: She said the state has “made historic progress to build more housing, with MSHDA on track for a third-straight, record-breaking year/
“This year, let’s invest $2 billion to build, buy, or fix nearly 11,000 homes…the largest housing investment in Michigan history,” Whitmer said. “Getting this done will create more than 10,000 construction jobs, lower costs, and help more people achieve the American Dream.”
- Medical Debt: Michigan secured $4.5 million in the fiscal 2024 bipartisan state budget to relieve some medical debt, but is one of just a few states with no protections specifically for this burden that impacts nearly 700,000 Michiganders.
“This year, let’s work across the aisle to reduce medical debt so being sick or getting hurt doesn’t also mean being broke for the rest of your life,” she said.
- Taxes: With high prices on essentials and the looming threat of tariffs, the governor highlighted the retirement tax rollback and Working Families Tax Credit expansion.
“This year, hundreds of thousands of senior households will save an average of $1,000 on their taxes and 650,000 families—home to half the kids in Michigan—will get an average tax refund of $3,200,” she said. “Together, we put $1 billion back in people’s pockets and lifted 20,000 children out of poverty.”
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Banks, a Democrat from Grand Rapids, agreed with what she said was Whitmer’s key point: These collaborative efforts to drive Michigan forward “are working.”
“Since the onset of our Senate Democratic Majority, we’ve worked in tandem with the governor and House to forge a better future for our residents — from expanding civil rights protections and reproductive rights to delivering the largest tax relief plan in state history and making sure no Michigan student goes hungry at school,” Banks said. “But our work is not done yet — we’ll continue fighting to lower costs, foster opportunity, and improve our quality of life. And we’ll remain open to working with anyone who puts the real needs of our residents first and foremost.”
While acknowledging leaders of both parties at the start of her speech, Whitmer paid special tribute to retired U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan’s first woman senator, announcing the state was renaming Constitution Hall as the Deborah A. Stabenow Building. “Over a lifetime of service as a county commissioner, state legislator, congresswoman, and Michigan’s first woman senator… you fought for farmers, protected our Great Lakes, and championed equal coverage for mental health,” she said. “You’re a trailblazer who has made a real difference in people’s lives.”
