Tagged: state of the state 2013

Governor Snyder addresses roads, schools and partisan divisions in State of the State

"In his State of the State speech last night, Governor Rick Snyder asked lawmakers to fix roads, schools, and partisan divisions. Snyder wants them to find a way to increase spending on roads and transportation by more than a billion dollars a year. He says bad roads are a financial burden on drivers and the state alike," the Michigan Public Radio Network reports.

Michigan foreclosure rate plummets

"A new report suggests Michigan is becoming more of a home seller’s market. Home sale prices plunged in Michigan during the recession. But Realty Trac reports in 20-12 home sellers were getting about 94 percent of their initial home sale price listings," Steve Carmody reports.

Michigan set 160 weather records in 2012

One hundred and sixty extreme weather records were set in Michigan in 2012. That's according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. As the Detroit News reports,

"The Detroit News reports, "Last year's statewide weather broke records across the spectrum including, 139 heat records in 44 counties, 18 rainfall records in 14 counties and three snow records in three counties. Michigan's weather seems to be paralleling the national trend of record-breaking heat, rain and snow."

The State of the State speech outlines what the Governor sees as spending priorities for the state. But state taxes and spending are only part of the story.   Michigan Watch has learned recovering from the Great Recession will not go as well in Michigan as the rest of the nation this year.

Governor Rick Snyder made his pitch for higher taxes and fees to pay for roads in his third State of the State address.

He says Michigan needs at least a billion additional dollars in the coming year to pay for badly needed repairs to the state’s ailing infrastructure.  He may also need a plan to repair his strained relationships with Democrats to get what he wants.

Governor Snyder will deliver his third State of the State speech tonight.

He says he’ll offer a plan to raise a lot more money to fix roads and bridges and improve rail corridors. He says Michigan’s gas tax needs to be updated to reflect the changing realities in how people drive and the vehicles they buy.

"It would likely be a combination of features so you could be talking about fuel tax, but also registration fees because you do have concerns about the long term in terms of people going to electric vehicles and others who won’t be paying in," said Snyder.

The governor says he knows it won’t be easy to sell higher taxes and fees to the Legislature and the public, but he says they’re an investment that will save money over the long term.
    
The governor says he also intends to talk about the Great Lakes in his address, and matching workers’ skills to jobs.

In this “Week in Michigan politics” Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition host Christina Shockley and Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry discuss Governor Rick Snyder’s upcoming State of the State address and how a judge ruling over the Detroit Public School district could set a precedent for emergency managers in the state.