LANSING – Oakland County lawmakers today sent the "Hire Michigan First" package back to the State Senate after adding key provisions that were stripped by the Senate back into the plan. The plan, which ensures that companies receiving economic incentives hire Michigan workers, was first proposed in the Michigan House two years ago and has awaited Senate action ever since.
"We need to put the teeth back into the 'Hire Michigan First' plan," said State Representative Lisa Brown (D-West
Bloomfield), a sponsor of the plan. "Our middle-class families and workers are hurting right now more than ever, and
'Hire Michigan First' is about protecting them. Taxpayer money must benefit our workers and create jobs for them, not
workers from other states or countries."
Sponsors of the plan said many key pieces were left out of the plan passed by the Senate in May. The Senate cut the
portion of the plan that would put Michigan to work now by requiring a company that receives a state construction
contract to hire 100 percent Michigan workers. The Senate also created a large loophole for companies receiving
incentives to hire out-of-state workers. The House plan closes the loophole for out-of-state workers and restores
requirements that companies hire 100 percent Michigan workers in order to receive state contracts.
"Michigan has some of the finest builders, architects and workers in the country," said State Representative Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills). "They deserve the jobs
that their tax dollars helped create. This plan will guarantee that Lansing is spending taxpayer money wisely – by
using it to get people back on the job."
The Senate's plan also stripped language that created penalties for companies that receive taxpayer incentives to
follow state law, such as prevailing wage.
The House accepted some additions from the Senate such as extending the "Hire Michigan First" requirements to the
Michigan film incentive tax credits and creating an exemption for projects in border counties to hire workers from
bordering states.
"The Senate plan does not send the right message to our workers," said State Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods). "We're here to represent
hard-working Michigan families and do everything we can to get them back on the job. Our plan will jumpstart our local
economy and create jobs for Michigan workers."