Advocacy News – July 21, 2022
The Great Lakes State officially has a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2022, after Gov. Whitmer signed it into law yesterday following legislative negotiations and an agreement two weeks ago. The $73 billion budget included strategic investments to help support Michigan businesses and bolster our state’s economy. As the Michigan Chamber has previously reported, the bipartisan budget included the following key investments:
- $55 million in funding for Going PRO Training Fund, increasing total funding by $15 million from the previous fiscal year. The program provides training grants to employers to help them train and upskill their new and existing workforce. The Chamber had been advocating for appropriating at least $55 million to better reflect and help meet the growing demand for this program.
- $25 million in funding for the Pure Michigan tourism campaign, so the state can continue to position Michigan as a great place to live, work and play. The Michigan Chamber had been advocating for a $25 million appropriation.
- Funding to help reduce barriers to employment for Michiganders including affordable transportation and childcare, including $2.5 million for the Tri-Share Pilot Project, which allows participants to share the cost of childcare equally between the employer, an eligible employee and the State of Michigan, with coordination provided regionally by a facilitator hub. Funding for this program was a priority for the Michigan Chamber (requested at least $2.5 million).
- A bump in the per-pupil funding to $9,150 per student.
- Expanded free preschool for another 1,300 children under the Great State Readiness Program.
- A 27% increase in vocational education funding.
- $55 million in funding for Michigan Reconnect, which offers Michiganders tuition-free paths to higher education or skills training.
“Michigan’s next decade of economic growth depends on implementing creative, bold and untraditional workforce solutions,” said Wendy Block, vice president of business advocacy and member engagement for the Michigan Chamber. “We applaud the Governor and Legislature for coming together to find meaningful solutions to help bridge the talent gap and build Michigan’s future workforce. In particular, continued resources for the Going Pro Talent Fund will make meaningful, lasting progress by assisting our state’s employers in training, developing and retaining current and newly hired employees, as well as providing essential wraparound support for job seekers with barriers to employment such as the lack of affordable childcare and transportation.”
However, there is more to do in Lansing. Despite the recent budget agreement between the Michigan Legislature and the Governor, an unprecedented $7 billion remains on the state’s balance sheet. About half of the dollars left are one-time federal stimulus dollars with certain restrictions of what it can (and cannot) be spent on. Regardless, those available dollars leave significant room for discussion and negotiations about various tax relief options — current proposals range from cuts in the personal income and corporate income taxes to increasing the Earned Income Tax (EITC) credit. Next steps include policymakers finding consensus on allocating these dollars — no small feat in an election year. Legislators are slated to be on in-district summer break until after Labor Day.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce will continue to keep you apprised of key appropriation and policy developments as the legislative term wanes down.
Other new laws that benefit Michigan Chamber members:
- Public Acts 152 and 153 of 2022 (House Bills 5486-5487) — Also known as Michigan’s INFORM (Integrity Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces) Act — is a collection of bills sponsored by Reps. Steckloff (D – Farmington Hills) and Tisdel (R – Rochester Hills) respectively, provides added consumer protections when purchasing good and products from online retailers by attempting to mitigate the amount of stolen and counterfeit items sold online. “This bipartisan, common-sense legislation strikes a balance between the need for increased transparency to thwart stolen and counterfeit products to protect consumers while simultaneously ensuring businesses are not punished with unreasonable reporting requirements,” said Leah Robinson, director of legislative affairs and leadership programming, Michigan Chamber. “The Michigan Chamber applauds the Michigan Legislature for working to find a bipartisan solution to this complex problem and the Governor for signing these important consumer protection measures.”
- Public Act 148 of 2022 (Senate Bill 248) — Sponsored by Sen. Jim Runestad (R – White Lake) — newly allows the Michigan Department of Treasury to audit partnerships at the entity-level, rather than the individual level, aligning the Great Lakes State with federal practice and helping advance tax compliance and efficiency.
- Public Act 174 of 2022 (Senate Bill 691) – Just today, the Governor signed yet another bipartisan, MI Chamber-backed bill to crack down on organized retail crime (ORC). Sponsored by Senator Jim Runestad (R – White Lake), the bill includes ORC, or theft of a product with intent to resell in exchange for profit, as a racketeering offense in Michigan, allowing law enforcement to pursue criminal charges regardless of the value of the item stolen.
For questions or more information, please contact Leah Robinson at lrobinson@michamber.com.