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Governor Whitmer Strives for Bipartisan Tone in State of the State Address

Governor Gretchen Whitmer laid out her vision for the direction of Michigan in Wednesday night’s virtual State of the State Address.

“Tonight, I will stay focused on the things that unite us,” said Governor Whitmer. “I’ll speak to the progress we’ve made together, the opportunity we have right now, and why we all believe in Michigan.”

Speaking from Detroit Diesel, Governor Whitmer began with a list of accomplishments, things she will no doubt campaign on this fall.

From education funding, to criminal justice reform and expanding access to childcare, she also touted the progress made on fixing roads and bridges and the work about to begin.

“Thanks to many in our congressional delegation and our federal partners, we have billions more headed our way from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan that we’ll use to turbocharge our efforts,” said Governor Whitmer.

Schools would get another funding boost under the Governor’s plan.

“Soon, I’ll introduce a school aid budget that will mark the biggest state education funding increase in more than 20 years without raising taxes,” stated Governor Whitmer. “I want to be crystal clear, students belong in school.”

For seniors, the Governor called for the repeal of the so-called retirement tax.

“I first called to repeal this tax back in 2019, and it’s time to get it done,” says Governor Whitmer. “If we phase it out over the next few years, we can save half a million households in Michigan an average of $1,000 bucks a year.”

And as expected, a call to increase the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit to lift more people out of poverty.

To lower costs for Michiganders, Governor Whitmer called on putting a cap on the cost of insulin, and a rebate for people who buy an electric vehicle or install a home charging station.

“If we get this done, we can lower the cost of electric vehicles by nearly $10,000. We can make it easier for Michiganders to go electric,” stated Governor Whitmer.

And for mental health: a proposal to make help more readily available.

“We will make a historic investment to retain and recruit hundreds more mental health workers,” said Governor Whitmer.

The theme was “I Believe in Michigan.” Clearly, the Governor also believes in bipartisanship to make progress.

“I know at times our nation’s capital feels hopelessly gridlocked, but at our state capital, Republicans and Democrats have shown we can come together to put Michiganders first,” stated Governor Whitmer.

You can view the full State of the State Address below:

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