"This plan puts a laser-like focus on using Michigan tax dollars to create jobs for Michigan residents," said State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens), the architect of the "Hire Michigan First" plan. "The highly skilled, hard-working residents of Michigan – who make up the best workforce in the country – deserve to be first in line for these jobs. It's our responsibility to make sure that our tax dollars benefit our working families, not people from out of state or even from other countries."
The "Hire Michigan First" plan:
- Rewards companies that hire the most Michigan residents in the pursuit of state tax breaks and other economic development incentives. This rule would apply to projects handled by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and certain state-funded programs, including the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and the Renaissance Zone Act.
- Encourages transparency and accountability by requiring companies that accept incentives to report on who they hire to ensure that Michigan residents are put first.
- Cracks down on companies that hire undocumented workers by creating penalties that include requiring them to pay back their tax incentives and barring them from future state contracts.
"Tax incentives are a great tool to help rebuild our economy which means more jobs," said State Representative Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores), who sponsored a bill in the plan. "When Michigan companies get these incentives, Michigan workers should be the ones getting those jobs. In these tough times we have to support our hard-working residents, and that's exactly what 'Hire Michigan First' does."
The "Hire Michigan First" plan passed the House today and now heads to the Senate.
"This plan will help improve our business climate by giving breaks to businesses that play by the rules," said State Representative Jon Switalski (D-Warren). "It also will help fight our rising unemployment rate by putting Michigan workers first in line for state contracted jobs. 'Hire Michigan First' is a common-sense plan that supports our hard-working residents and protects our middle class."
State Representative Jennifer Haase (D-Richmond) said: "Creating good-paying jobs is my top priority, and making sure that our tax dollars create jobs for our own workers will help do that. Michigan has plenty of highly skilled workers, and they need and deserve to be first in line for jobs created by their own tax dollars. We have to fight for every single job in this tough economy."