Since 2009, significant actions have been taken or are underway that align with our efforts on Michigan’s Road to Top Ten. This impressive list of achievements shows what’s possible when all of us work together to do what’s right for Michigan.
Our state’s improved status reflects continuing progress on the Business Leaders for Michigan strategic plan. In 2012 and 2013, Michigan was dead last among all states in our “Top Ten” states rankings. Since then, Michigan has jumped 37 spots.
We’re better- but still not best. We have to work together to stay on the right course, using our roadmap.
What’s already done:
- Improved revenue and expenditure forecasts
- Reformed unemployment insurance system
- Produced multi-year financial and budget plans
- Produced citizen-friendly balance sheet
- Reduced state debt by one third
- Required state agencies to implement spending plans with strategic missions, visions and goals
- Improved state bond rating
- Aligned public employee health care premiums with the private sector
- Removed statutory barriers and provided incentives to encourage local service sharing
- Passed public school employee retirement reforms estimated to reduce unfunded pension and health care liabilities by $16 billion
- Passed emergency manager law to help locals “fix the basics”
- Improved Michigan’s corporate tax climate by replacing the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) with a flat corporate income tax
- Improved Michigan’s regulatory climate by rescinding over 2,000 obsolete and redundant rules and requiring a cost benefit analysis for all proposed rules
- Approved referendum to phase out personal property tax
- Conducted annual benchmarking of Michigan’s economic competitiveness
- Teacher pension system reformed to encourage new teachers to enroll in defined contribution plans
- Established an early warning system to identify local governments in financial distress
- Expanded technical worker training
- Increased funding for higher education based on performance
- Increased access to early childhood education for underserved students
- Increased funding for transportation
- Reached agreement to build new international bridge
- Maintained rigorous K–12 academic standards and adopted aligned assessments
- Enacted third grade reading requirements
- Enacted teacher evaluation system
- Adopted regional economic development model
- Convened state leaders to align behind economic development goals
- Grew venture capital to 26th nationally
- Adopted Michigan urban strategy
- Increased investments in cities
- Identified Michigan’s six most promising existing assets to accelerate growth
- Developed and began implementing strategies for five of the six key assets: Global Engineering Village, Gateway to the Midwest, Higher Education Marketplace, Natural Resources Economy and Global Center of Mobility
- Launched the American Center for Mobility
- Developed and launched the mobility marketing campaign – PlanetM
- Hosted the World Mobility Leadership Forum that convened global mobility thought leaders
- Enacted Good Jobs for Michigan legislation to help attract large business investment to Michigan
- Enacted MiThrive legislation to encourage redevelopment of brownfield sites throughout Michigan