Senate Republican Priorities
and Achievements

Budget: Right-sizing government and Growing Michigan's Economy

The first step to government's economic recovery is an honest acknowledgement of the crisis. Denial is no longer an option, and reliance on tired old solutions and political rhetoric will not change our fortunes. Staying the course is only going to make matters worse and prolong our journey to the road to recovery. (more)

Elimination of MBT Surcharge

Senate Republicans sent a message this year to Michigan job providers to let them know how important they are to re-energizing our state's economy. We encouraged them to keep their businesses here with our recent passage of a bill to eliminate the onerous Michigan Business Tax surcharge. Senate Bill 1 phases out the 21.99 percent MBT surcharge over a two-year period - cutting the surcharge by half to 11 percent in 2009 and eliminating it by 2010. (more)

Workforce Training and Jobs

With our state's unemployment rate nearly 50 percent higher than the rest of the country, we must do everything we can to help put people back to work and facilitate job creation. Michigan has been in a one-state recession for the past six years and our state's economy is undergoing a change that is fundamental and long lasting. As this process plays out, the need to have a trained and capable workforce will grow and remain a top consideration for employers and entrepreneurs deciding where they want to locate. (more)

Health Care Reforms

Currently, Michigan is home to an estimated 1.1 million residents who do not have health insurance, which is equal to 11.5 percent of the state's population. This number is likely to increase unless the economy improves.

Michigan Senate Republicans understand many residents are afraid that they may not be able to afford health insurance. In the last legislative session we tried to address these concerns before they became an issue for the people of Michigan, but unfortunately, the House did not agree. (more)

Eliminate Bureaucracy

Senate Republicans will continue to do everything to make our state a leader in the nation for job growth. One of the most important factors a business considers when deciding where to locate or expand its operations is the time, cost, and ease of compliance associated with a state's regulatory climate.

Senate Republicans will continue our fight to eliminate bureaucracy and make Michigan an inviting place to do business. We will work with job providers to reform the regulatory structure in Michigan and to put pressure on the administration when the actions of a department are costing us precious jobs. (more)

An Agenda for Strong Schools

Senate Republicans firmly believe that the success of our great state will depend almost entirely on whether Michigan has the kind of education system that provides our children and future generations with the skills to succeed in the fiercely competitive and ever-evolving global economy. Literally and figuratively, we simply cannot afford an education model that has grown out of a 20th century industrial and agrarian society. Just as we must diversify our economy, we must challenge ourselves to innovate and to create a diverse and comprehensive approach to educating our children. We are focused and committed to a long-range plan to build strong schools that reflect a dynamic, efficient and high-performance 21st century learning environment. (more)

Protecting Water and Natural Resources

Michigan's natural resources are one of the state's most valuable assets. It is imperative that they be preserved and protected. Senate Republicans will continue our strong leadership role in protecting our water and our environment.

Efforts to conserve Michigan's natural resources are not new for Senate Republicans. For more than five years, we have been leading the way to develop proactive legislation to protect the Great Lakes, promote alternative energy, and expand recycling in Michigan. (more)

Keeping People in Their Homes

Senate Republicans will take action to ensure families are not taxed out of their homes in these tough economic times.

Property values in Michigan have declined steadily over the past two years. Most homeowners have seen the values of their homes drop 15 percent to 25 percent. Property taxes, however, have actually increased over the same period.

We will lead the charge to fix the constitutional provision that allows property taxes to increase while the value of your home decreases. (more)

Making Neighborhoods Safe

Senate Republicans served on a bipartisan workgroup comprised of members of the governor's administration, the House, and the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center to determine how the state might reduce corrections spending while reinvesting in measures that will make communities safer and stronger. The workgroup produced a bipartisan package of policy options that gives Michigan a real chance to achieve needed cost savings and prevents crime at the same time. (more)

From the Senate Floor

Michigan Senate Republicans Floor Statements

Senator Cropsey refutes false statements by the governor and other democrats that the Senate has not acted on revenue generating legislation for the K12 budget.

Recent Blogs from Senate Republicans

Royal Oak Superintendent Dr. Thomas Moline hit the nail on the head when recently testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of my resolution urging an override of the governors veto of 20j funding. (read)

Workforce Training and Jobs

Currently, Michigan largely relies on federal dollars for workforce training. We have gotten much more than other states over the last several years because of our one-state recession but that will change as conditions deteriorate nationally. Federal funds are traditionally focused on the hard-to-place person, not the average individual who has lost his or her job due to fundamental changes in the economy or who is entering the workforce for the first time. Much of this state's existing job training efforts are directed through traditional programs such as the Governor's No Worker Left Behind program.

Last session, Senate Republicans passed legislation that focused on a new approach to training for new jobs using the community college system. This legislation is modeled on successful programs in other states and employs a unique financing mechanism to deliver training programs that are narrowly focused and meet specific employer needs. This innovative approach will help retain existing jobs as employers transform and modernize their operations to be competitive in today's global economy. Another Senate Republican initiative from last session provides state support for universities working to transfer technology to private sector job providers. This legislation was introduced to force the administration to pursue this goal as it had neglected this area in the past. We will continue to take full advantage of our state's universities and leverage the intellectual capital that they possess to create jobs in Michigan.

The caucus will also explore creating a new structure and process independent of the Michigan Strategic Fund to encourage tech transfer and job creation. New incentives will also be considered to encourage and support commercialization of new technologies here in Michigan. Combined with the implementation and development of new workforce training funding mechanisms and approaches such as the legislation described above, we will have the workforce available to fill these jobs right here in Michigan.

Community colleges are likely the best resource available to train and retrain workers. Just as the universities have assets that need to be leveraged, so do the community colleges. They will likely be the principal vehicle for our efforts to modernize our workforce, and it is very important that they are part of this discussion and process as we seek tailored solutions to our state's economic challenges. Senate Republicans will continue to work towards innovative, flexible and responsive solutions to our state's job training needs but always with the clear understanding that job training is not an end in and of itself.

News items related to Workforce Training and Jobs

MILLIONS IN INVESTMENT AND 100 NEW JOBS HEADED TO BATTLE CREEK

Plans for two projects expected to generate more than $85 million in private investment and 100 new jobs to Battle Creek were approved Tuesday by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority Board, said state Sen. Mike Nofs. [more]

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION ARE MY TOP PRIORITIES. THATS WHY IM GLAD THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RECENTLY APPROVED MY LEGISLATION DESIGNED TO AID MICHIGAN ON THE PATH TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Kahns Corner For the week of November 16, 2009 [more]

KAHNS EXPANSION OF SMARTZONES APPROVED BY HOUSE

State Sen. Roger Kahns legislation designed to aid Michigan on the path to economic recovery was approved Thursday by the House of Representatives. [more]

BIRKHOLZ APPLAUDS MEASURE TO CREATE 800 JOBS IN LANSING AREA

Sen. Patty Birkholz today announced that Auto-Owners Insurance Company in Delta Charter Township will receive nearly $29 million for a business expansion project. [more]

SEN. KAHN ANNOUNCES $660,000 FOR BV REDEVELOPMENT

A Brownfield Work Plan request for redevelopment of the former Fort Saginaw Mall site in Buena Vista has been approved and will receive a state grant of $660,000, said state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township. [more]

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