Governor Whitmer Header




Dear Friend,

At the beginning of 2023, I laid out our agenda to deliver on the issues that make a real difference in people?s lives in my State of the State Address. Over the course of the year, we delivered on nearly everything I proposed thanks to our new legislative majority that had one of the most productive terms in Michigan history.

Together, we rolled back the retirement tax and quintupled the Working Families Tax Credit to put money back in people?s pockets. We passed commonsense gun violence prevention legislation and expanded rights for women, working people, voters, and the LGBTQ+ community. We enacted a 100% clean energy standard and brought good-paying manufacturing jobs and supply chains back home to Michigan as we lead the future of cars, chips, and clean energy.

We did a lot in 2023, and I am so grateful to every Michigander and to our legislature for working hard to move our state forward.

Let?s keep our foot on the accelerator and make Michigan the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Check out our accomplishments in 2023 below!

Sincerely,

G signature

Gretchen Whitmer?

Governor?

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Lowering Costs

Since 2019, I have been focused on lowering costs and putting more money back in people?s pockets. This year, I signed over $1 billion in tax cuts to help Michigan families pay bills and put food on the table.


* Quintupled the Working Families Tax Credit, putting hundreds more dollars back in the pockets of 700,000 working families, directly benefiting almost half the children in Michigan ?1 million kids.
* Rolled back the Retirement Tax, saving half a million households an average of $1,000 a year.
* Lowered the cost of higher education by thousands by expanding the Michigan Reconnect program to offer any Michigander 21 and up a tuition-free path to an associate degree or skills training and started distributing the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, saving students thousands of dollars off the cost of college in Michigan.
* Put cost-saving provisions of the Affordable Care Act into state law, allowing young people to stay on their parent?s insurance until they turn 26 and guaranteeing protections for pre-existing conditions.

lowering mi costs

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Growing Michigan?s Economy

In 2023, Michigan was ranked as a national leader in business, EV investments, workforce training, and more. Right now, Michigan is one of the best states to find a job. We?re creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and achieving near-historic lows in unemployment. We?re on track to grow Michigan?s economy even more, bringing home supply chains of cars, chips, and clean energy and ensuring every community can thrive.?


* Attracted good-paying jobs and billions in investments to Michigan from companies like Ford, Toyota North America, and DENSO, making Michigan a leading innovator in the future of mobility and clean energy.?
* Continued rebuilding Michigan?s roads and bridges and critical infrastructure like clean water and high-speed internet. Since I took office, we have fixed 20,000 lane miles of road and 1,400 bridges, while supporting more than 100,000 jobs.
* Paid down $18 billion in debt since taking office and brought Michigan?s rainy-day fund to an all-time high.

jobs

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Investing in Michigan?s Kids and Schools

This year, we made the largest investment in students and schools in Michigan history to better the classroom experience, support our educators, and improve outcomes.

schools
* Kept the funding gap between schools closed.??
* Delivered free breakfast and lunch for all 1.4 million public school students, saving families over $850/year on groceries per kid.?
* Expanded the Michigan Reconnect program to every Michigander 21 and older, enabling 350,000 more students to pursue an associate degree or skills certificate and get on a path to a good-paying, high-skill job.??
* Started distributing the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, saving students thousands of dollars off the cost of college in Michigan.
* Took the first steps toward free Pre-K for all, saving families $10,000 a year, and surpassed our Caring for MI Future goal, opening over 1,000 new childcare programs since May 2022.


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Keeping Michigan Safe?

This year, I invested millions of dollars to give state and local law enforcement the resources they need and signed bipartisan, commonsense gun violence prevention bills that keep firearms away from bad actors.???


* Signed the bipartisan 'Make it in Michigan' budget, supporting thousands of police officers, firefighters, and first responders bringing our investment in public safety to $1.5 billion since taking office.
* Passed bipartisan, commonsense gun violence prevention legislation: background checks, safe storage, extreme risk protection orders, and stronger protections for survivors of domestic violence.??
* Removed over 500 illegal guns off the streets as a part of the Operation Safe Neighborhoods program.

MSP

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Protecting our Environment ?

In 2023, we faced climate change head-on while working to protect clean air and water and create good-paying jobs for Michiganders.? ?


* Established a 100% Clean Energy Standard, making Michigan a national leader in the fight against climate change.
* Enacted the strongest labor standards in the nation so that we can produce more clean energy in Michigan and ensure Michigan workers earn good wages while doing it.?
* Signed historic clean energy legislation, lowering household utility costs, creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and protecting Michigan?s public health.? ?
* Signed bipartisan legislation protecting children from lead poisoning by installing water filters in childcare centers and schools.?

clean energy

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Protecting Freedoms

This year, I expanded access to reproductive health care, took action to protect the LGBTQ+ community, and protected Michiganders from discrimination.?


* Signed legislation to repeal the 1931 abortion ban, ensuring that Michiganders can make their own decisions about their bodies.??
* Signed the Reproductive Health Act, which repeals politically motivated, medically unnecessary statutes that criminalized nurses and doctors, forced health care providers to close, raised costs for patients, and restricted access to abortion.??
* Expanded the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
* Expanded workers? rights to come together for better wages, benefits, and opportunities.?
* Signed bipartisan legislation expanding and protecting voting rights so every Michigander can cast their vote and have it counted.

repro

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