Advocacy News – Dec. 22, 2023
As we close out the year, we are reflecting on all that has happened in 2023 and planning for what’s to come.
Why it matters: Voted the Great Lakes State’s ”most effective membership organization,” now 18 years running, the Michigan Chamber team works hard to be your trusted advocate, partner and go-to-resource, leading on the issues that matter most to members while providing in-demand information and solutions.
The Chamber is focused on being pragmatic problem solvers and advancing Michigan’s ability to grow and be a place where people want to work, do business, live, and play.
TOP RESULTS FOR BUSINESSES IN 2023:
- Established the Great Lakes Growth Coalition (GLG). The Michigan Chamber helped create the Coalition and brought on other key partners, including the Grand Rapids and Detroit Chambers, MI Manufacturers Association, West Michigan Policy Forum, and Michigan Bankers Association. GLG aims to amplify the business community’s voice, build public awareness, and highlight the unintended consequences of a handful of anti-business legislative proposals that, if enacted, would affect Michigan’s economic future and ability to grow.
- Voiced opposition to several anti-business, anti-growth proposals, none of which have moved out of their legislative chambers:
- Local employment laws – Opposed efforts that would allow Michigan’s 1,800 local governments to impose wage and benefit mandates on local businesses, creating a patchwork of local minimum wage, paid sick leave, predictive scheduling, and other employment law mandates.
- Labor’s wish-list –Opposed a lengthy list of priorities being pushed by organized labor, including new restrictions on the use of independent contractors and harming workers’ career freedom, efforts to eliminate the use of non-compete agreements, mandate wage transparency, refundable tax credits for union dues, and more.
- Barriers to using temporary staffing agencies – Opposed efforts to impose restrictions when temporary workers can be used and new reporting requirements on staffing agencies and their clients.
- Project Labor Agreements – Opposed legislation giving municipalities the ability to enact project labor agreements (PLAs), which allow local governments to award contracts for public construction projects exclusively to unionized firms.
- Health insurance mandates – Opposed legislative efforts to mandate what must be covered by all health insurance plans, limiting the flexibility of employers and employees to design plans that meet their needs and pocketbooks.
- Fought efforts to repeal Michigan’s Right to Work (RTW) law and impose new renewable and “clean” energy mandates.
- Right to Work and Prevailing Wage – Opposed bills, which were ultimately signed by Gov. Whitmer, to repeal RTW and reinstate the prevailing wage law due to the impact it could have on our state’s competitiveness.
- Energy Mandates – Opposed legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer, mandating that 60% of the state’s electricity be derived from renewable energy sources by 2035 and be 100% “clean energy” by 2040. We remain concerned about how this policy change will impact energy reliability and affordability, especially as the legislation forces the premature retiring of existing power generation systems which may put those costs onto industrial and commercial customers.
- Tackled the talent crisis. Advocated for and secured additional state funding to help break down key barriers to employability, and helping employers connect with and build their talent pipelines:
- Skill building – Pushed for state dollars to help employers upskill and train more employees and meet growing demand through the Going PRO Talent Fund ($54.75 million). Also supported funding for digital workforce development, which will connect prospective employees with employers ($4.9 million).
- Affordable childcare – The Michigan Chamber released an eye-opening new report – Untapped Potential in MI – that found the impact of Michigan’s lack of accessible and affordable childcare on our state’s working parents, job providers and economy is staggering – a nearly $3 billion loss annually for Michigan’s economy. One indentified solution was the expansion of the MI Tri-Share pilot project, a collaborative private-public partnership with employers, employees, and the state to deliver childcare access to working parents. An additional $900,000 was allocated in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget, bringing the total program to $3.4 million.
- Workforce attainable housing – Supported the expansion of tax increment financing (TIF) to support workforce housing, including locally-controlled housing development projects.
- Expanded EmergeSkilled, an innovative online tool that connects businesses with students who have in-demand skills they need now while building a talent pipeline. Hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of students are now on the platform.
- Grew a new partnership between the MI Chamber and Salary.com to provide Michigan businesses with exclusive savings on benchmark job reports and salary surveys to help businesses know they offering the right pay to recruit and retain talent.
- Supported tax relief measures.
- Earned Income Tax Credit – Supported bipartisan legislation, which was signed into law in 2023 and will take effect in 2024, to restore and increase the state’s refundable tax credit for low or moderate-income workers, also known as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is an effort to incentivize work by allowing Michiganders to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets.
- Delivery and installation – Supported legislation to exempt sales and use tax on delivery and installation charges purchased at the time of sale. This legislation, which was signed by Gov. Whitmer, cancelled all outstanding audits by the Michigan Department of Treasury.
- Industrial processing exemption – Supported legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer, to ensure machinery used for industrial processing is exempt from sales and use tax.
- Solar projects – Supported legislation to exempt solar energy equipment from personal property tax and instead enact a payment in lieu of tax (PILT). This bill was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer.
- Supported efforts to prohibit discrimination. The Chamber supported efforts to protect LGBTQ+ community under the Michigan’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, an anti-discrimination law. The legislation, which was signed by the Governor, codified a Michigan Supreme Court decision on this matter.
- Brought members timely Signature events and education opportunities. Nearly 4,000 Chamber members and Michigan businesses joined us for our 2023 Signature Events, including Michigan ATHENA (our women’s leadership series), Chamber Day, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Series, Small Business Summit, and a State of Michigan Business Outlook. Hundreds of others participated in our training and education programs. A BIG thank you to all our sponsors, speakers and attendees. We hope you check out our programming for 2024! If you’re interested in increasing your brand awareness or thought leadership through sponsorship or speaking opportunities, please contact Amanda Toy at atoy@michamber.com or visit here.
- Launched the MI Business Matters podcast, talking with key business movers and shakers and policymakers on the relevant and timely issues affecting our state’s job providers, economy, workforce, and communities. More than 60,000 downloads and listens/views in the first nine months! Got an idea or want to be a guest or sponsor, let us know.
- Supported more than 3,500 MI Chamber members with their business problems and questions. If you’ve got feedback, or a policy challenge, please reach out or fill out this quick form here – just scroll to the bottom of the page.
- Kept over 9,000 labor law poster customers compliant with real-time updates. Also offering digital notices for remote and hybrid employees now too. Required state changes coming in 2024 – make sure to pre-order yours. You can trust us with your compliance needs – we deliver!
- Conducted dozens of utility bill reviews for Michigan businesses in partnership with Tenurgy, helping find significant savings for 9 out of 10 participants, and peace of mind for the other 10%. Learn more about this no-risk, no-obligation program today.
- Helped dozens of small business members start a 401(k) for their employees and reduce their fees and risks. This is a top benefit the workforce values and we’ve stepped up to the plate with partner TriStar to provide this solution with the Michigan Multiple Employer Plan, or MiMEP for short. See how you can harness this program for your business and teams.
2024 – What It Might Bring: The Michigan Chamber team will remain focused on our pillars to “Protect. Connect. Strengthen.” and our commitment to pragmatic problem solving.
- Reimagined Michigan Chamber Foundation with new event offerings, programs and initiatives, including:
- Launching the National Civics Bee in Michigan. In partnership with The Civic Trust, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and six local and regional chambers, be on the lookout for this exciting event engaging middle school students from across the state to learn more about civic engagement and contribute to their communities. Learn more and get involved today.
- Offering MIBiz360: Talent & HR Summit. You won’t want to miss this in-person event in March 2024 dedicated to unraveling the latest talent attraction, retention and development trends, strategies, and practices shaping the future of work. Learn more and register now to get a special early-bird discount.
Here is a list of policy issues we are watching and/or will be pushing going into the new year:
- Opportunities for bipartisanship. The Legislature will return to Lansing in January for the remainder of the 2023-24 legislative session. While Senate Democrats continue to hold their 20-18 majority, the House is currently split 54-54. This is because two members of the House Democratic caucus won their respective mayoral races in November, bringing the lower chamber to a tie – at least until spring (a special election has been called for April 16, 2024). While Democrats are expected to hold onto those seats, it is doubtful that anything partisan will be able to be accomplished on the House floor until House Democrats are back to full strength. Just this week several legislative districts drawn by Michigan’s first citizen-crafted districts have been ruled unconstitutional. The independent redistricting commission, voted on by Michigan voters in 2018, redrew Michigan’s legislative maps ahead of the 2020 elections. With this new ruling, we have yet to see what that means for the Michigan Legislature in 2024, but the Chamber will keep members up to date.
- Possible paid sick leave and minimum wage hikes. A case questioning whether the Michigan Legislature had the constitutional authority to adopt and subsequently amend (“adopt-and-amend”) two 2018 ballot initiatives is pending before the Michigan Supreme Court: one would increase the minimum wage to $13+ per hour by 2024 and eliminate the tipped minimum wage and the other would enact one of most generous paid sick leave laws in the country. The court heard oral arguments in this case on Dec. 7 and the Michigan Chamber engaged in support of the status quo through an Amicus Brief. We expect the court to issue its decision in early-to-mid 2024. Depending on which way the ruling goes, the status quo could continue or Michigan businesses could be forced to make costly changes to their wage rates and benefits offerings regardless of what they have implemented or offered to date — unless the Legislature intervenes with changes.
- Debate around the recommendations of the “Growing Michigan Together Council.” On December 15, the gubernatorial-appointed council released its final recommendations on Michigan’s next steps to tackle the state’s declining population, which ranks 49th for slowest growth rate among the 50 states. The outlined suggestions include developing an economic growth “innovation hub” plan, incentivizing efforts to attract and retain young talent, reimagining the state’s teaching and school day structures, “future-proofing” our state’s roads and developing regional transit systems, and increasing Michigan’s affordable housing stock. While the goals set forth in the report are laudatory, “how” the state might implement the recommendations was not outlined. We expect there to be significant debate in 2024 around potential funding mechanisms and structural policy reforms necessary to accomplish the recommendations.
- Work with Great Lakes Growth Coalition will continue. The GLG Coalition will continue to work toward policies that grow Michigan’s economy and population, and highlight consequences of anti-business legislative proposals, including efforts to create sweeping new paid leave mandates, eliminate the use of independent contractors and give Michigan’s 1,800 local units of government the abiity to pass their own separate employment laws. Other issues will be added to the coalition as the need arises.
- Contaminated site clean-up. We expect the legislation to push for so-called “polluter pay” legislation, which would create significant new barriers to the clean-up of contaminated sites and brownfield redevelopment in the state, especially our urban cores, for any companies that handle regulated chemicals. The Chamber expects to be very engaged in this debate.
- Economic development. Legislative efforts around economic development is expected to continue, including enactment of a research and development (R&D) tax credit and a rethinking of Michigan’s approach to incentives and placemaking through a “Make it in Michigan Fund” (MMF) and “Michigan 360 Program.” The Chamber expects to be engaged in these debates and discussions.
- A tighter state budget. The fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 state budget totaled $81.7 billion, which was up $5.7 billion from the previous year’s budget and $1 billion more than the Governor’s original budget. The increases were largely due to remaining American Rescue Plan Act federal relief dollars (ARPA). The FY 2024-25 state budget, which must be completed by July 1, will be harder to put together now that federal funds are exhausted, so tough decisions may be ahead. The Michigan Chamber will continue to advocate for fiscal constraint and responsibility.
- 2024 elections. The 2024 elections will bring key decisions for Michiganders, including who they want to see in the White House, who succeeds retiring U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and who they choose to represent them in Congress. In addition, Michigan voters will decide who serves them in the State Capitol. All 110 members of the Michigan House of Representatives will be up for re-election, so voters will decide whether the “trifecta” of Democratic control (i.e., control of the House, Senate, and executive branch) continues or whether the State Capitol will return to split power. We also expect any number of ballot proposals, although we won’t know until mid-2024 what will qualify for the ballot.
- Advocating for infrastructure needs. The Michigan Chamber will continue to push for legislation that places responsible permitting decisions in the hands of the state’s main environmental agency. In addition, the Chamber will continue to advocate for sustainable funding to ensure Michigan’s roads and bridges are in “good” and “excellent” condition.
Do you have questions for us? Policy ideas or other needs for the new year? We would love to hear from you! Contact our MI Chamber team today at info@michamber.com or by visiting the links here.
Happy holidays and a healthy, prosperous new year for all!