(MACKINAC ISLAND) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday afternoon announced a $2.1 billion economic agenda she is dubbing MI New Economy that’s aimed at growing the state’s middle class, supporting small businesses and investing in the state’s communities. “We can build a state where innovations, energy and talent live,” Whitmer said. “Where the best minds and the biggest private sector players come together to build the future. Where every child has a great public education. Every parent has access to quality, affordable childcare. Every family has a safe, affordable place to call home, clean water coming out of their taps, stunning places to relax and unwind.”
The economic plan was built, she said, around the following three pillars and objectives.
– Grow the middle class by establishing a goal that 60% of adults will have some form of post-secondary credentials by 2030. Lifting 100,000 families out of working poverty between 2022 and 2026. Provide access to low or no cost childcare for 150,000 more families by 2024.
– Support small businesses by setting the goal to become a top 10 state for small business job growth and revenue growth from 2022-2026. Become a top 10 state for household income growth during the next five years (FY 22-26). And become a top 10 state for growth in venture capital funding over the next five years (2022-2026).
– Build strong communities by providing 100% access to high-speed internet and 95% adoption of that high-speed internet over the next five years. Also under this pillar is the objective to build or rehab 75,000 housing units in five years (FY 22-FY 26).
“Together, the bipartisan budget plan that is being voted on now in Lansing, and this opportunity with the federal dollars can put Michigan in the driver’s seat,” Whitmer said. “This is an opportunity and I’m excited about where we are and the chance to talk about it with all of you who helped inform it.”
The $2.1 billion plan was arrived at, Whitmer said, after the administration spent the summer “listening.”
“Whether it was the Lt. Governor’s tour across the state engaging with small businesses, or LEO (Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity) MI Small Business Summer Tour, we met with small business owners, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders all across the state to get their input.”
She said the plan was built “piece by piece based on real world conversations and input from the business community.”
The new MI Economy Plan isn’t part of the budget that began moving Tuesday in the Legislature.
Whitmer Announces Pilot To Charge Electric Vehicles While They Drive
The Governor also announced a new initiative to develop the nation’s first wireless charging infrastructure on a public road in Michigan, which would allow electric vehicles to charge while driving, according to her office Tuesday.
The Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot was announced by Whitmer while participating in the opening ceremony at Motor Bella Tuesday.
The pilot is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. MDOT will release a Request for Proposal on Sept. 28 to design, fund, evaluate, iterate, test and implement the pilot along a one-mile stretch of state-operated roadway in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties.