After outlining roughly 23 new proposals or
budgetary actions, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder concluded his 55-minute State
of the State Address Wednesday evening by mentioning he had been criticized for
attempting to accomplish too much. The Governor’s third Address was made while
approximately 150 protestors could be heard chanting and banging on drums on
the Capitol lawn.
Overall, the Governor explained that
Michigan’s share of the U.S. economy had been steadily dropping for 44 years –
from 5.25 percent in 1965 to 2.5 percent in 2009. Since then, the state’s share
had again begun to increase and the Governor described his determination to
ensure the increase was not an anomaly, but the beginning of a decades-long
process.
Transportation
Funding Predictably Highlights Speech
Governor Snyder described the need to focus
on transportation and infrastructure funding as a “pay now or pay later”
scenario, where the price of paying later would be exponentially higher than
that of paying now. Mr. Snyder’s numbers claim that an investment of $10
billion over the next 7 to 10 years would save the state roughly $15 billion,
as the same goals would cost $25 billion 10 years from now.
While lacking in specific details, such as
percentages, Governor Snyder’s proposal focuses on three primary elements:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.)
<!--[endif]-->Changing
the current $.19 per gallon gasoline tax to a percentage tax on gasoline at the
wholesale level
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.)
<!--[endif]-->Increase
in vehicle registration fees
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.)
<!--[endif]-->Local
option for registration taxes for local road and bridges
Governor Snyder characterized the move as
costing the average driver roughly $120 per year, but also mentioned the new
plan could result in as many as 12,000 new jobs and 100 saved lives each year.
Governor
Proposes Campaign Finance, Election Changes
Governor Snyder praised the hard
work of Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, while proposing additional
transparency in elections and encouraging voter participation.
The Governor called for allowing
no-reason absentee voting for people who apply for an absentee ballot in person
at a Clerk’s office with existing photo identification requirements. He also
supports permitting online voter registration in the same manner currently used
for changes to address in the state’s verification system. Currently, voters
must be of a certain age, be away from their voting precinct or have some other
reason allowed by law to vote absentee.
As in 2012, the Governor renewed
his call for quarterly reporting for candidates during non-election years. This
would put Michigan in line with the federal model which requires quarterly
reporting. The Legislature did not take action on this issue last session.
Other notable proposals included
a call to revisit the Blue Cross Blue Shield reform package vetoed at the end
of last session, as well as the legislation creating the Education Achievement
Authority. Also, while not directly mentioning the tragedy in Connecticut
earlier this winter, Governor Snyder called upon state officials to improve
mental health programs and school security.
A full transcript of the Governor’s
third State of the State address can be found at: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/Journal/house/pdf/2013-HJ-01-16-002.pdf
or the video version viewed at: http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-63747---,00.html