Dec. 5, 2025 | This Week in Government: Business Groups Back Bills to Codify Michigan Achievement Scholarship

Codifying the Michigan Achievement Scholarship in statute would help more Michigan residents obtain credentials and, in time, strengthen the state’s skilled workforce, business groups said.

A coalition of six business groups sent a letter last week to House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, asking for movement on legislation from both chambers that would codify the program.

In the letter, the groups cited the state’s source for education data, MI School Data, which shows 53.4% of high school seniors enrolled in postsecondary education within six months. This was the lowest in the Great Lakes region and is down significantly from 10 years ago, they said.

The letter requested the committee take up SB 382 and SB 383, along with HB 4955  and HB 4956, which were introduced in September.

“This legislation provides transparency metrics business organizations requested – income levels, persistence and graduation rates, and the types of credentials earned,” the groups wrote. “These measures will help policymakers assess the program’s impact on Michigan’s talent pipeline and economic mobility.”

Having the program in statute would ensure a reliable program with accountability standards in place, the groups said.

“Michigan’s prosperity depends on the skills of its workforce,” the groups wrote. “Codifying the Michigan Achievement Scholarship is a vital step toward building a nation-leading talent infrastructure.”

The Senate bills passed that chamber in September with some bipartisan support (See Gongwer Michigan Report, Sept. 25, 2025). A Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the bills estimated the cost for the program and the Michigan Achievement Skills Scholarship program at about $270.7 million for the recently completed 2024-25 fiscal year, growing to $590 million by 2027-28.

The president of the Detroit Regional Chamber signed the letter as well as the presidents of Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Association of Michigan, TalentFirst, and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce.

Mike Duggan would like to see his proposed Detroit land value tax brought back before the Legislature under his successor, Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield, and the state’s next governor – hopefully, he said at a Tuesday event, himself.

During a discussion with Rocket Mortgage billionaire Dan Gilbert at an event hosted in his honor by the Detroit Regional Chamber, Duggan recounted the swing-and-a-miss he experienced trying to get the tax reform through the Legislature last session, which he said motivated him to run for governor – and to not do it as a Democrat.

Under the land value tax, which Duggan initially shopped around to lawmakers at the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference, land taxes in the city of Detroit would be tripled and building taxes would be cut by 30%. He said it would allow the city to cut its 86 mills collected from property taxes down to 60 mills, eliminating the Detroit operating tax (20 mills) and its state school levy (6 mills).

The tax went without a vote at the end of 2023 after being left on the board in the House for more than an hour (See Gongwer Michigan Report, Nov. 28, 2023) and was brought back in 2024, only to become one of the many casualties of the chaotic lame duck session and again fail to see a vote.

Duggan said Tuesday he’d like to see Sheffield renew the city’s efforts to reform its property tax system, ideally alongside himself as a newly elected independent governor in 2027, but regardless of who’s in office, it will require bipartisan cooperation that wasn’t present in 2023 and 2024.

“I do think you will see the new mayor, hopefully with the help of a new governor, take up the land value tax,” he said. “But we have to fundamentally cut property taxes (and) we don’t have the ability to do that without help from Lansing. And maybe we’ll get both parties to finally go along.”

Duggan recalled leadership from both parties in the Legislature telling him the policy would have their support in meetings. However, that was before Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, then the House speaker, “did something I didn’t give any thought to at the time,” Duggan said.

Tate signed on to sponsor the land value tax bill – “Joe thought this was going to be easy, no big deal,” Duggan said – and suddenly, Republican support evaporated and Democrats were unable to reach a 56-vote consensus within Tate’s own caucus.

“As soon as he said, ‘when the Republicans aren’t with us, I need all 56 of you,’ the first one (said) you haven’t taken up my defund the police bill, Mr. Speaker, you haven’t taken up my rent control bill, and now the people on the left of the Democratic Party refuse to vote for it unless he took those up,” Duggan said. “I never got a vote because the two parties were so obsessed with fighting with each other. I literally walked out of that room.”

It was that experience, he said, which sealed the deal on his departure from the Democratic Party.

“I decided that day I was not going to run for governor as a Democrat,” Duggan said. “That decision was made, and that started me thinking, how is the state ever going to change if we keep going this way? And it ultimately led to where we are, and whether people want a third choice, we’re going to find out next year.”

State regulators heard passionate and divided comments Wednesday evening from residents, labor groups, and environmentalists over whether to allow DTE Energy Company to fast-track special contracts with a company pursuing a large data center project.

Supporters of the project to allow OpenAI and its partners to build a multibillion-dollar data center in Saline Township told Public Service Commission members that the project would provide a huge investment opportunity for the state as well as significant good-paying jobs during its construction and for the long term.

Countering were opponents listing a myriad of concerns, including that residential ratepayers would be left holding the bag if the project failed, that the electrical grid cannot handle such a massive influx of energy, and environmental concerns.

DTE is seeking to obtain ex parte approval of special contracts for electric service for the proposed data center, which moves more quickly than a contested hearing process and bypasses public hearings.

PSC Chair Dan Scripps said the public interest in the proposal has been enormous since DTE filed its request for fast-tracking the special contracts. He acknowledged that many of those submitting comments have expressed concerns over the cost to ratepayers and potential impacts on the electric grid.

“As we review the contracts before us for DTE to provide electricity to the proposed data center, we’re closely reviewing some of these same issues around power demand, stress to the grid, costs, and the impact on customer bills,” Scripps said.

He added that there are some concerns raised that fall outside of the purview of the PSC, including siting approvals, construction issues, and air and water permits.

In its filing with the PSC, DTE cited statute that says an amendment in rates or rate schedules applied for a public utility that will not lead to an increase in cost to its customers may be approved without notice or hearing. The utility has used this mechanism to make its case for bypassing public hearings.

The proposed special contracts would provide electricity through Feb. 28, 2045, according to DTE in its filing.

As of Wednesday evening, there were more than 4,850 public comments filed with the PSC in the case.

Among those who submitted written comments was Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who supports the project. She highlighted the estimated 2,500 construction jobs that would be created for the building of the center and about 450 permanent jobs on-site.

“The reality is that data centers are going to be a big part of America’s future. The question isn’t whether they will be built, but rather: can Michigan benefit from these jobs and build data centers in a smarter way while upholding our strong environmental laws to protect our precious natural resources?” Whitmer wrote. “We have an opportunity to do both. We can set an example for the rest of the nation on how to build these facilities the right way and grow our economy at the same time.”

Dozens provided comments to the PSC during a two-and-a-half hour virtual meeting, not all of them sharing Whitmer’s optimism.

Bryan Smigielski, campaign organizer for the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, said ratepayers are being asked to subsidize “a gigawatt-scale gamble for a speculative AI project that has never turned a profit.”

“No one knows if DTE’s renewable build schedule will be able to keep up with this data center’s needs … and no one knows if AI will be ever be profitable enough to pay the billions of new construction and energy costs that could get pushed onto the rest of us,” Smigielski said. “With all these risks, it is reckless, genuinely dangerous, to fast-track this project or any future AI data center project.”

Saline Township resident Tim Bruneau was also opposed, saying the state is under siege by “corporate greed and political overreach from a billion-dollar company and a monopolizing utility company bullying a small rural township with limited resources.”

“We need guarantees that we will not be paying for the infrastructure to support this data center,” Bruneau said.

Randall Whitaker, Washtenaw County Skilled Building Trades Council president, was supportive of the proposal, citing job creation and that it would deliver millions of dollars in local tax revenue and benefits to Saline Township.

“This project also helps keep high-tech work anchored here in Michigan by investing in Michigan’s strong skilled workforce and bringing advanced infrastructure to our area,” Whitaker said. “This project helps keep high-tech work anchored locally rather than being outsourced. That means better opportunities for our workers, their families and the next generation entering skilled trades or tech fields.”

Josh Fraley, who lives adjacent to the project site in Saline Township, was also supportive. . He said learning more about the project has addressed many of his initial concerns.

“Of course, I wish it would stay as farmland, but the property was going to be sold and developed into some non-farm use, and I believe this project is actually the least objectionable path forward for that land,” Fraley said.

Fraley said regardless of whether the fast-tracking of the project is approved, his main concern is that the contract specifically guarantees that the costs are not borne by other customers, asking that the PSC work to ensure that is the case.

Chris Morgan, a Saline Township resident who is group vice president for Walbridge, the general contractor for the project, said it would boost the regional workforce.

“These workers will spend their hard-earned dollars locally, regionally and all in the state of Michigan,” Morgan said. “Too often, younger people shy away from a career in construction because of job security or the travel requirements. This project will provide an incredible opportunity to attract and grow this critical Michigan industry.”

Washtenaw County resident Rima Mohammad said the project would affect the water of the surrounding communities and raise costs for residents.

“Our rural township and county should not bear the environmental and infrastructural cost so that distant companies can profit,” Mohammad said.

Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township, said she is among nearly two dozen lawmakers who wish to see the PSC hold a contested proceeding in the case.

“The concern is that this is a historic precedent-setting request,” Shink said. “It’s important to set a good precedent. It’s also important that this not be done in secrecy.”

Shink said an ex parte proceeding does not protect the interests of area residents and DTE ratepayers, nor does it allow certain questions to be vetted, such as what happens if the company were to enter bankruptcy and if there is adequate electricity to power all customers in the area.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, in a statement following the meeting, repeated her call for the PSC to grant a contested case hearing regarding the special contracts.

“It is overwhelmingly clear from both the comments shared tonight and the majority of the nearly 5,000 public comments submitted online that Michigan’s residents share in our concerns and demand transparency,” Nessel said. “I again urge the MPSC to listen to the people of the state, to whom they should feel dutybound to represent and defend, to do the right thing and deny DTE’s request to approve these special contracts without a full, contested hearing.”

Nick Occhipinti, senior policy director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, in a statement also urged that a contested case hearing be granted.

“Private developers and DTE Energy need to prove that everyday Michiganders won’t be forced to subsidize corporate investments in their energy bills, and projects like this won’t hinder or block our transition to the clean energy future that we’ve set together as a state,” Occhipinti said.

The PSC’s next scheduled regular meeting is on Friday, which would be the earliest time at which a decision could be issued on the contracts.

The ‘More Jobs for Michigan’ package looks to reinvigorate an old program as a new economic development tool the sponsor hopes could be the answer to the post-Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve question.

The Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee took testimony Tuesday on two bills sponsored by Sen. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, SB 471 and SB 472, that would create a payroll tax capture Singh believes was an effective tool before the Legislature decided to let a similar program expire.

The package is similar to the Good Jobs for Michigan program, which was swapped out for SOAR. Singh said SOAR has “lived its life” and has not “found anybody in either party or either chamber that is very excited about (it).”

Although the bills were first introduced in June, they are now being considered amid pressure to put economic development legislation on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s desk per budget negotiations with House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids.

The House Republicans introduced the “Real Jobs for Michigan” package last month, which would create a payroll credit, not capture, equal to 50% of income tax withheld for each new job a company creates for up to 10 years. The program is capped at $50 million annually with some funds set aside for smaller companies.

The plan would also require the rolling of Michigan Economic Growth Authority into the Corporate Income Tax, necessitating a refinancing of the credits that have been in place since 2009.

Singh said he is having conversations with Hall and what will come out of those conversations is something similar but may be slightly different than what he presented on Tuesday, maybe using aspects of both plans.

In the tax capture, an applicant could receive all withholding tax capture revenues for new jobs up to 10 years with possible extension and up to 20 years for protected jobs.

The program was not simply a “2.0” version of Good Jobs for Michigan, Singh said, but added different provisions including claw backs, environmental protections, a timeline for performance, and local feedback on the front end of the project.

There is no upfront money leaving the state going to the company, Singh said, saying “if the company fails to create the minimum number of jobs, it will never collect any of the revenue.”

The Department of Treasury would certify the number of jobs.

For businesses building in the state, there would have to be a breaking ground within two years of the capture and then a first hire within three years. For businesses not needing to construct facilities, the first hire still must be within three years.

Singh said in conversations with Senate Republicans, he moved the business eligibility for the capture in job requirements down from 50 to 25 positions, with those new jobs needing to pay 175% the prosperity region median wage.

For larger companies able to create 250 new jobs, they would pay 150% of the median wage. In projects with 1,000 or more new jobs, it would require $1 billion investment by a company as well.

He said he could be open to getting the number down to 10 jobs in the program or creating a separate program for microbusinesses.

Another change from the Good Jobs for Michigan program is the addition of retaining jobs as a pathway to the capture, wanting to also protect jobs from leaving the state. The company would have to maintain 50 or more full-time jobs that may be at risk of elimination or moving.

The program would be administered by the Michigan Strategic Fund. House Republicans recently set forth a package to abolish the MEDC that would also fold MSF’s economic development responsibilities.

Chair Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield Township, championed the local control component of the program because he said there must be local buy-in from the community for a project to work.

Singh told reporters after committee that the local aspect partly stemmed from claims that local opposition killed large projects like Gotion and wanting to ensure locals want to see these facilities develop.

Daniel Witt, head of state and local policy at Lucid Motors, which is currently considering an expansion of its engineering and research center in Southfield, praised the program as something that could ensure Michigan is a “magnet” for business attraction.

However, he said Lucid is in a position to consider multiple options in the future due to a competitive landscape for growth in other states but knows that Lucid could meet the requirements in the bill to receive support in hiring and scaling operations.

“Refundable or tax capture-based incentives bridge that gap and make Michigan competitive today, not years down the road,” Witt said.

Maureen Krauss, president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Regional Partnership, said the state needs a modernized income tax capture tool like this for growth in the state, as Michigan continues to fall behind other neighboring states.

However, she suggested net new jobs be part of the commitment, to prevent the tax capture being used to move business from one part of the state to another.

Mike Johnston, executive vice president of government affairs and workforce development for the Michigan Manufacturers Association, opposed the median wage requirements, saying they were too high to attract businesses.

He said many times, the manufacturers set the median wage in the area with their payroll, and that setting the wage standards higher, “forces companies to compete against themselves for wages and benefits.”

James Hohman, director of fiscal policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, also opposed the bills because he believes job creation incentives don’t work as well in comparison to incentivizing companies to not eliminate jobs like the MEGA credits.

Singh said likely what will be seen as the legislature moves closer to the end of the year is a melding of both the Real Jobs and More Jobs proposal.

He said the biggest differences between the plans include a retainment program for all businesses, larger investments and focusing on workforce development overall.

Hall has said before that he wants to see an official elimination of the SOAR statute, which still has $607 million in the pot, and MEGA tax credit continuation as development talks continue.

Singh said he would be open to looking at the elimination of SOAR but being at the heel end of the MEGA credits, sunsetting in 2029, the Legislature may run into legal issues if they don’t repurpose contracts that are already in existence. He said they would have to honor them.

When it comes to hitting the development plan deadline, Singh said he is an optimist and wants to give it a try even as the session days draw fewer.

Having a smoother budget process and maintaining funding for programs and education that will have a long-term positive effect on residents across Michigan are key goals for Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as she approaches her final year in office.

In a year-end interview this week with Gongwer News Service, Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, stressed that momentum on programs for education, health care, and housing will strengthen the state for the long haul.

During her final year in office, she said a critical priority will be to see passage of a budget that builds on Democrats’ legislative wins of recent years, including expanding the Rx Kids program, expanded school meals, programs enabling more people to earn credentials to boost the state’s skilled workforce, and funding to build new housing.

Funding for various educational programs and science of reading legislation also needs to continue moving forward, she added.

“We hear a lot about education and how we need to improve third grade reading scores,” Brinks said. “We have to support that with our dollars and with our commitment to teachers and students. It will take a couple of years for us to see those results, so maintaining those commitments is going to be critical.”

Expanding the Freedom of Information Act to include the Legislature and governor’s office is another top priority, she said.

“There is no reason we should continue the embarrassment of having Michigan be dead-last in the nation when it comes to ethics and transparency,” Brinks said.

Brinks took aim at House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, over his refusal to take up the FOIA package that passed the Senate earlier this year. The speaker has said the FOIA package is not strong enough for him to support.

“For him to flip-flop on that is really nothing short of a travesty,” Brinks said.

To get FOIA expansion to the governor’s desk before she leaves office at the end of 2026 would be a great achievement, Brinks said.

To meet many of her goals, Brinks said next year’s budget process will need to be more collaborative and transparent than what transpired during 2025 between the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House.

The Legislature this year, for the first time since the late 2000s, went beyond midnight on Sept. 30 to complete work on a state budget.

A few hours after midnight on Sept. 30, lawmakers passed a seven-day short-term spending measure to keep the state government open while final negotiations were completed. The budget was passed early in the morning on Oct. 3. It included a long-term road funding proposal that was a key part of the holdup between the two chambers.

The Senate passed its budget proposal in May, but it took the House until late August to pass their proposal. Both chambers acknowledged they were far apart on many items in the competing proposals, with negotiations proceeding at a glacial pace until late in September.

Brinks placed the blame on Hall for this year’s budget delays, adding that she would like to see more transparency in the budget process in 2026 to see it completed by the end of June.

“Instead, the process was sort of hoarded into the speaker’s office, and staff had more to say about budget decisions over there than members did,” Brinks said. “Countless times, we heard from their members that they didn’t know what was going on or that those decisions were made above them. That’s not what legislators are elected to do, to just follow orders from the top.”

Passing changes to the legislative earmarks process was the only significant procedural improvement Brinks said she saw during the most recent budget cycle.

Hall has touted the legislative earmarks legislation, which passed last month and includes a 45-day wait from when an earmark is introduced to when the Legislature can take it up for a vote.(See Gongwer Michigan Report, Nov. 13, 2025).

After obtaining a Democratic Senate majority for the first time since the 1980s, Brinks said she is optimistic about the party’s chances to hold its majority after next year’s elections.

“We’ve got candidates that are unmatched in their work ethic and their ability to communicate with the people in their district, so we feel very positive about the prospect of who we will be able to make the case with to voters in the coming months,” Brinks said.

She said the political environment has favored Democrats in recent months as well, with the party’s special election candidates exhibiting strong showings across the country ahead of next year’s midterm elections and taking into consideration President Donald Trump’s declining approval ratings.

“And then you add to that our track record of really being able to get things done, to effectively work together to shepherd legislation, to be the chamber and the party that people could count on to do really good policy work … I think our returning members are really strongly situated to maintain that and to bring in new members to be able to continue that legacy,” Brinks said. “I think we have an excellent case to make to voters.”

Brinks said candidates will need to talki to voters about issues that matter, including cost-of-living issues, education, efforts to improve neighborhoods and communities, and housing affordability and infrastructure needs.

“We just have to keep telling our story, and they have to hear that there’s somebody who cares enough about what they think, that they’re willing to knock on their door and have a conversation with your average voter without the filters of all the political baloney, and make sure that they understand that we have solid candidates who really care about what they think, who are going to bring their voices into the Capitol every day when we go to work,” Brinks said.

As for the much-anticipated special election to fill the vacant 35th Senate District seat, Brinks said she believes Democrats are well-positioned to hold onto the seat formerly held by U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bay City. Brinks said the party has a rich field of candidates and that the district, on paper, has a Democratic lean.

“I think you’ve seen prominent Republicans take a pass here because they know it’s going to be really, really tough for them, so we’re in a really good position,” Brinks said. “I’m very confident that we’ll be able to win that. We’ve tested it and proven it with Kristen McDonald Rivet and that district is really in its new form, solidly Democratic leaning.”