LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Reactions from U.P. state lawmakers have been mixed following the governor’s State of the State address. Governor Whitmer proposed a number of new programs and tax benefits that some representatives are hopeful will ease financial burdens, but others are concerned the state doesn’t have the funds to support the programs long-term.
This year’s State of the State was mostly focused on ways the governor says she hopes to lower household expenses from vehicle rebate programs to tax benefits for business owners and caregivers.
Representative Jenn Hill said she’s excited to begin working on some of these issues as early as this week, with meetings about how to use funding that’s been given to address housing in the U.P.
“There was money from last year, $50,000 that has gone to hiring someone to work on housing at a regional level,” Representative Hill said. “What was being don in Marquette was very different to what was being done in Munising. Now we see that the whole picture, being able to build housing is bigger than that, and so we need a regional solution, not a town-by-town solution.”
Representative Hill said the continued investment into education is also important to her. For people to know their tax dollars are going to a productive place that will ensure a path to pay for an education.
“They’re going to make sure that young children who need supports are going to get them,” Representative Hill said. “And then also as an adult, when you’re if you want to improve your chances and you want to go get a certificate, you’ll be able to do that and the state’s going to pay for it.
House Republicans are worried about the long-term costs of these programs. Representative Dave Prestin said the state has used up its surplus, and said Michiganders will end up paying for programs he said are the same ones the governor has been pushing since she took office.
“There are so many things that we could be talking about and working in an earnest way towards, and we’re not.” Representative Prestin said. “We’re just reiterating and rerunning the same old talking points.”
Representative Prestin said he is cautiously optimistic about hearing the governor mention the expansion of Renaissance Zones, and that he’d like to see the entirety of the U.P. designated.
“We fit the bill across the board from the west to the east.” Representative Prestin explained. “When you’re talking about areas like Rudyard where you’ve got classrooms where students have to have umbrellas over their heads when it rains because their roof leaks, I mean the whole U.P. needs a renaissance.”
The representatives say there were some important issues to the up that the governor wants to prioritize, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make those programs, a reality.
