Welcome to Michigan Public television's coverage of the 202 state of the state.

Brought to you in par by business leaders for Michigan dedicated to making Michiga a top ten state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy for all of us for Michigan.

More informatio at businessleadersformichigan.co Michigan Academy of Family Phys representing over 4200 family me physicians and medical student dedicated to providing physician led team based patient centered primary care for all ages.

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Information at MPCA.net and now here's senior capitol correspondent Tim Skubick.

Thank you very much.

Welcome to Studio C on this spr like night in our town as Govern Gretchen Whitmer will enter the chamber shortly to deliver numbe seven with one more to go in a series of state of the stat going back to the year 2019.

The governor is certainly a a different persona this night than she was in 201 when the the whole take on the s that year had to do with the out that she was wearing.

Goodness gracious.

Tonight we have a governor who full bloom with a national perso People know who Big Gretch is.

She had that book tour.

She spoke at the national conven And tonigh she speaks to the people of Mich And governors absolutel love state of the state because they're unfilled for they can s they want with nobody like inter like reporters telling you what what they didn't say, who'll eventually do that at th of the program with our great pa And so stay tuned for that when to the House floor now for the s And who is the sergeant at arms?

Well, the special committee, pleas escort the governor to the rostr Thank you, sir.

The big red doors in back of the will open shortly.

And the governo and the first family husband, Ma and the two daughters will be en the chamber.

The governor is very excite that one of her daughters will b to law school next yea and her other daughter, Sydney, will be graduatin from that other school down the I think they call it Ann Arbor and she'll be going on as well.

The governor working both sides of the aisle.

We have a new air, dare we say.

Is it a trend of bipartisan coo in this town this night based on what happened last week?

As believe it or not the Republicans and Democrats jo And in the case of Democrats, t what the other people in labor wanted to do on the wage issue and the Democrats and the R's got together and passed somethin The governor signed it.

It was bipartisanshi in the best sense of the word.

And now everybody in this town including the governor, the new Matt Hall, and the majorit leader, are all saying let's use that foundation of momentu and let's shift to that other is You know, the one they've been to resolve for about a thousand all those potholes in your backy and in your roads.

The governor has a road pla that she'll talk about tonight if she moves up and says hello Ms. Brinks, shakes hand to Speak and the lieutenant governor, who will now do the intro of members of the joint conventi I present to you the governor of the great stat of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.

One of the thing pundits will be watching tonight if you remember last year's spe the governor tried everything bu through hoops to get the Republ there on the right side of your to do what they're doing right n Hello again.

I'm honored to be here tonigh for my State of the State addres Seven down, one to go.

And if you're tuning in betwee the MSU game or the Pistons game thank you.

To Lt.

Governor Garli Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel Secretary of State Jocelyn Benso These are hard job and we are serving in tough time Thank you for your partnership.

To the outgoing chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Elizabeth Clement.

Thank you for protecting our Con and upholding the rule of law.

To all the state employees, my C and executive office staff, thank you for this work.

I could not do this job without To Congressman Dan Kildee thank you for your years of serv to my husband, Mark, my daughte Sherry and Sidney, and my entire I love you.

To our National Guar and our state police.

Thank you for putting your lives on the line every day to keep us safe.

So to my friend, leade Winnie Brinks and her husband, S I want to tell you a little bi about each of the four leaders t They have three amazing daughter and are now like Mark and me, celebrating an empty nest.

Let me kno when you stop paying their phone When two leader Aric Nesbit and his wife Tricia, who are expecting their third ch this Easter, congratulation To speaker Matt Hall, I want to congratula you and Megan on your recent mar and do a little shout out to your new stepson to leader Ranjeev Puri and his wife Nettie are pro parents of three young boys.

And I'm hoping they're going to fan, unlike their dad who's a se Cheese head.

I love you, Ranjeev.

All right.

I'm looking forward to working with all four of you and your caucuses to get thi for the state of Michigan.

Now, let's take a moment to ackn another leader and legend, Debbie Stabenow.

Please stand.

Please stand.

Senator.

Over a lifetime of service, as a county commissioner her in Ingham County and state legis Congresswoman Michigan' first woman, United States Senat you fought for farmers you protected our Great Lakes.

You championed equal coverage fo health.

You are an incredible trailblaze who has made a real difference i lives in Michigan.

And so tonight, in honor of your I am pleased to announce that we are renamin Constitution Hall just across th the Deborah Stabenow building in Your honor, Senator.

It's fitting that the building h our state's agriculture and environmental department who carry on your life's work.

So thank you, Senator Stabenow.

Finally, to my fellow Michigande I took an oath of offic to serve the people of Michigan.

And that means all the people of That's my commitment to you no matter who is in the White Ho or who's on the other side of th in Lansing.

Yes, I do hope to find common gr with President Trump and work with a Democrati led Senate and Republican led Ho on our shared priorities.

Now, I'm not looking for fights but I won't back down from them In Michigan, we have an opportun and an obligation to lead by exa Our state represents America in economically, geographically, politically and socially.

People from every walk of life call Michigan home.

We don't always agree, but we move forward together.

That is the source of our streng Let's show the rest of the count how to get things done.

Right now, I know that politics, especially politics, can be exhausting.

I feel it too.

At a high level we're facing two big challenges.

Economic uncertainty and political division.

First, economics.

It's hard to buy a house or car because of high interest It's still hard to pay the bills Just this month, just this month, inflation jumped back up to 3%.

Businesses are facing uncertaint industry leaders and top econom on both sides of the aisle are w about the havo that 25% tariffs would wreak on auto industry, while also raising expenses.

Everyday expenses for our famili And as for politics, there's no sugarcoating it.

We seem very divided today.

Partizanship has infecte every aspect of our lives, drive by opportunistic politicians and media figures who live by a philosophy I win.

If you lose, their divisive rhetoric is ampli by algorithms designed to make us angry and keep us scrolling.

We're all being manipulated by t and most powerful companies in the world who profit more.

When we start to believ that we have nothing in common.

But that's just not true.

As governor, I've been to all 83 at least twice and sat down with all kinds of people.

When you show up and listen, it' that most of us want the same th and we're all frustrated by the same things too.

Our people are not as divided as our politics.

I really believe that.

I want to ask you all to take a and look at the insert in tonigh program.

These are real quotes from Michi who live in your districts and they're tired of the games.

They're counting on us all to work together.

We can't let them down.

I'm reminded of a conversation I had a couple of years ago with a retiree from Kalamazoo.

He and his young neighbor have polar opposite political vi They put up yard signs supporti opposing candidates every two ye but they helped fix each other's and regularl shovel each other's sidewalks.

They show up for each other all Their bond is deeper and stronger than politics this year.

If we show up, listen to and learn from each other, we can move forward together and get things done.

The good new is that we have a lot going for There are a lot of first and new beginnings worth celebra For instance, Michigan Tech was an R1 research university joining MSU U of M and Wayne Sta as one of the world's 150 best research colleges.

We expanded our Rx kids, the na ever program that puts money dir in the pockets of new moms and to improve their finances and he We broke ground on the Joan Secchia Chil Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand the first of its kind in Michiga Palisades will be the first Restar nuclear power plant in American Protecting 600 local union jobs reliable powe for hundreds of thousands of peo And last year and last year, Detroit reopened Michigan Central hosted the largest NFL draft ever and grew its population for the first time in 67 years.

Later this year, we'll open up the Gor Howe International Bridge, a monument to commerce and coope that will carry 25,000 vehicles Two decades, three administratio in the making.

I'm prou that we're going to get it done And guess what?

Our financial house is an order, While other states are juggling multibillion dollar deficits.

We've got a surplus.

Our rainy day funds are at an al high of $2.7 billion.

After this year's budget, we'll have paid down $26 billion of debt since I took We've been repeatedl named a top ten state for busine We've grown our GDP by 35% at a nearly 40,000 auto jobs and raised median household inco grand to $77,000 a year.

That is exciting stuff.

But ultimately the state of the state isn't ab on a chart or metrics on a sprea It's about how people fee and how people think about Michi Tonight will center their storie and recommit ourselves to building a michiga we can all be proud to call home My fellow Michiganders the state of our state is strong and it's on all of u to make it stronger and kinder t So a few weeks ago, I released my seventh budget after encouraging news that state revenues were $1,000, higher than expected.

Michigan is on the mov because Michiganders are hard at Let's show them that we are too with a balanced bipartisan budge by the end of June.

That's focus on the fundamentals Last month at the Detroit Auto Show I laid out my initial priorities Economic development, roads and trade with Canada.

Speaking of trade, I'm gratefu that Republicans, Democrats and sector leaders are speaking out widespread 25% tariffs on our ne because we know that saying no to Canada would mean saying yes I'm also gratefu that the president decided to pa As I've said before, I'm not I'm not opposed to tariffs outright, but they are a blunt tool.

When the Michigan economy is on 25% tariffs on everything would slow dow construction, shutter Small busi lead to layoffs in the aut industry, and cost Michigan fami an extra 1200 dollars a year at and at the pump because companies will pas their higher costs on to the con It would be a disaster.

But don't just take it from me.

A few weeks ago I asked Michiganders directly.

In less than 48 hours, I got 3000 written responses.

Brandon from Bath is a pharmacis who knows tariffs will raise prices on pre drugs, forcing people to choose between their health and paying their bills.

Jaclyn from Interlochen own a heating and cooling business a tariffs would force her to raise just to stay open.

And Steve from Leroy is a retire who wants to buy a new car.

But if tariffs go up, the averag car of the average cost of a ca will go up by 3000 bucks, too.

For them and for every Michigand let's keep speaking with one vo for smart trade policies to leve the playing field and secure Ame without jacking up our costs.

On on tariffs and every issue.

Michigander expect us to work together in La because that's how things get do As a legislator I served in the minority for 14 That means this is my 21st state of the state.

My God, I often partnered with my Republican colleagues, including Unhealthy Michigan, our Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act that cover hundreds of thousands of people.

As governor, I've signe six balanced bipartisan budgets and nearly 1500 bipartisan bills 1000 of those under a republic c legislature.

My North Star has always been collaboration.

That's what governing means.

You work with anyone to get thin So what should we focus on this Let's keep it simple.

One costs.

Let's make life more for Michiganders.

Two jobs.

Let's create more opportunities people in our state earn more mo And three results.

Let's make g work better for the people we al I think we should all be able to agree on that.

Yes, lowering costs is our top priori While no one in this roo can single handedly bring down p we can tackle the biggest items in your budget.

Let's start with housing.

It's a tough market right now.

Mortgage rates are above 6%.

Home prices have shot up 50% in the last four years.

The median age of a home buyer at 56 years old.

That's an all time high.

And just a quarter of homes went to first time buyers.

That's an all time low.

Rebecca from Carlton told me she has simple d She wants a nice kitchen to bak a small yard for a garden and a She recently toured a house in D and competed against 40 other bi Our young people are suffering t I want to call attention to the fact that this crisis disproportionately impacts young single men.

They buy just 8% of homes sold t compared to single women who buy As a dad of three and proud Detr I know the lieutenant governor is passionate about housing.

He's cut a lot of ribbon and is focused on making our sta a better place for families like We both know that every young pe wants to protect and provide for themselves and their family, and that start a place to call your own.

If you can't buy a house, it's hard to build wealt or feel like you're ready to hav It's all connected.

So while the state alread has programs in place to help yo become the first person in your to buy a hous or pay up to $10,000 of your dow or lower your mortgage rate by 1 and save thousands on your feder We must also address the core issue of supply.

Right now, we are short 140,000 statewide, and the way forward i We got to build baby, build both.

Both Texas and Minnesota built more housing and drove cos Bright red Texas and bright blue Minnesota have done it.

We can, too.

Misha has been doing their part with two years of record breaking, record straight record breaking year this year.

Let's do it again.

Let's inves $2 billion to build buyer fix.

Nearly 11,000 homes this year.

Let's make the largest housing investment in Michigan history.

Getting this done will creat more than 10,000 construction jo lower costs, and help more peopl achieve the American dream.

Let's get it done.

Moving on to wages.

Last week, Republicans, Democra workers and business came togeth to forge a fair deal on minimum wage and paid sick time.

Because we work together the minimum wage will rise to $1 for more than 700,000 workers a faster than it would hav before the tipped minimum wage i by the largest amount ever and will keep going up.

Workers will have more tim to care for themselves and their because now Michigan has the bes sick time in the country and small businesses have more flexibility.

This was a bipartisan effort an proud that we were able to get i These last few weeks showed us that we can work together to solve hard problem and deliver real solutions for M Another big cost A lot of people bear is health c including medical debt.

A couple of years ago we secured four and a half milli in our state budget to relieve some medical debt.

It was a good start, but it was just a start with inflation and tariff talk.

We need to find a more significa bipartisan way to help the nearly 700,000 Michi with medical debt.

I want to thank Senato Sarah Anthony for her focus on t We're one of just a few states with no consumer protections for medical debt, and that's not This year.

let's wor across the aisle to reduce medic So being sick or getting hurt doesn't also me being broke for the rest of your Now, let's talk energy.

Everyone's eyebrows rais when that first winter utility b A few months ago, Republican and Democrats came together to d something about it.

Led by Representative Helena Sco Senator Sam Singh, Rick Altman, and Veronica Kleinfeld.

The legislature expanded the Michigan Energy Assistance Program or meet, which already saves about 50,00 households more than 700 bucks a I was really proud to sign this bipartisan expansion, which could save 335,000 more Mi families, hundreds on their ener Next, one of the two certainties Taxes.

Forgive me.

I am getting over a cold if you can't tell.

For too long, the working class have paid more than they should.

That changed when I signed legi to roll back the retirement tax and quintupl the working families tax credit Yeah, this year hundreds of thousands of senior will save an average of $1,000 on their taxes and 650,000 fami to half the children in Michigan will get an average tax refund o I want to thank majority leader.

Winnie Brinks for he work on both these common sense changes.

Together, we put $1,000,000,000 back in people's pockets and lif kids out of poverty.

When our kids when our kids get a great start.

They get a good foundation to build a good life.

It's why we feed all 1.4 millio school students free breakfast a saving families nearly 900 bucks per kid on grocerie and valuable time in the morning It's why we delivered free pre-K So every four year old can arriv at kindergarten, better prepared to lear while saving their parents $10,0 It's why we expanded 3600 child care centers to serve 37,000 more kids.

But we still have work to do.

Connor from Kalamazoo was an eng and his wife is a nurse.

They both work.

They have two kids and still st with the high cost of childcare.

Connor says it's one of the big why a lot of his friends aren't having kids at all.

I want to thank Representative Glanville for her leadership her If we want to grow our populatio we must continue expanding affordable child care.

This is pro-family pro child and pro-growth policy.

Let's get that done too.

I think I'm even going to get th on his feet on this one.

Next, I want to talk about fisca responsibility.

Most Michiganders are watching their expenses more closely.

State government should do the s Every February, after I propos the budget, the legislature adds Now, these can be important, fir stations, roads, schools.

Some of them not so much.

The problem is that there are t earmarks are added without trans and have been for years under b Republican and Democratic contro I know Speaker Hall is passiona bringing accountability to the p and I agree.

In this year's budget, let's hav transparency on all earmarks, because if you want to invest t money, you should put your name Right, Matt?

All right.

I mean, if they can do in D.C., we sure as hell can, too.

Right now, let's talk about jobs, sta with making it as easy as possib for Michiganders to get the ski or education they need to earn m Over the last few years that's exactly what we've been f and what we've done.

We boosted career and tech educ giving students hands on experie with wood, metal power tools and computers in hig so they can land a good job after graduation.

In this year's budget, let's wo to make the largest investment in caree and technical education ever.

In We launched the Michigan Reconn a bipartisan program offering an 25 and older a tuition free associate's degree or skills ce at their local community college Today, more than 200,000 Michiga have taken that first step in 20 We created the bipartisa Michigan Achievement Scholarship lowering the cost of a bachelor' degree by up to $27,500.

Today, more than 56,000 student are already saving thousands of I want to thank Representativ Samantha Steckloff for her work And just last year, we delivered the Comm College Guarantee, giving every high school grad the opportunity to earn an assoc degree or skills certificate tuition fr And today, more than 240,000 Michiganders attend one of our 31 community and tribal colleges.

But just like with housing, there's a gender gap here.

In education too.

Women outnumb in our community colleges, unive and most of all in the Michigan where enrollment is 2 to 1 women So we built these great programs open to everyone, but we need to do a better jo of getting more young men signed And that's why soo I'm signing an executive directi that will make an effor to reach more young men and boos their enrollment in higher educa and skills training programs.

And for the Michiganders working to put themselves through these it is life changing.

Truly, Evan from Bay City is a y And after stepping away from co to work full time in restaurants and retail, he enrolled at Delta College with reconnect and hope to find a career in public servi He wants to service community and make his son proud.

Anthony from East Lansing is a husband and dad who was an EMT throughout the pa He used the reconnec to earn an aviation mechanic's l and now works here at the Lansin My message tonight goes to all people, but especially our young I know it's hard to get ahead ri but I promise you, no matter how hard life might ge there's always a way out and a w The last thing any of us wants is a generation of young me falling their fathers and grandf I've heard most about this issue from moms, moms who love their sons and are worried about them and to the women out there who are succeeding after decade of having the deck stacked again I see your resilienc and I will never abandon my comm to equal opportunity and dignity for everyone.

Generations of our moms and gran fought hard for the economic ri and personal freedoms we enjoy t They made our lives easier and our responsibility to our so and daughters is to build a stat where they can all succeed.

As the mom of two smart, driven, young women and ste mom to three successful young me I know that their success is co to the success of their peers.

All of their peers.

In Michigan, men and women want to protec and provide for their families to be financially successful and to be good role models.

And that's why no matter who you we want to help you learn more and earn more.

So look at an apprenticeship.

Find a scholarship or sign up for reconnect.

Get your education deb free and build the life you dese Training the next generation of worker is also critical to our national Last year, we partnered with the Navy in McComb County Community and the Michigan Maritime Manufa Initiative, training hundreds o in Macomb County to build submar The first class of worker will be graduating next month, and they're ready to build the baddest ships that keep our nati But there's another.

Yeah.

Hi, B Go ahead Mai.

representative Xion of course, is very happy about t But there's another bipartisan d project in Macomb County that needs our attention.

All of our attention.

The base supports the Selfridge supports thousands of local job and hundreds of military familie It's home to some of the nation' most elite pilots.

They complete all kinds of missi including protecting our border from drugs and crime.

For people like Thomas from Warr This is personal.

He urged us to work together for because of how much it will mean, not just for the county, but for our country.

I'm really proud that we've alw across the aisle on Selfridge.

And I want to thank Representat Debbie Dingell, Lisa McClain, Jo Senator Stabenow, Senator Eliss and, of course, Senator Gary Pet He's a former naval officer.

He's fought hard for service me military families and defense jo And I know he will continue to until the very last minute of hi We're all doing our part, but we need federal support.

And that's why when I was in Wa D.C., on Saturday, I spoke with Secretary Pete Hegseth about su a fighter mission at Selfridge.

Let's support our brave men and I thought Candice Miller would like to hear that.

Let's suppor our brave men and women in unifo at Selfridge in our next budge and work with our federal partne to save Michigan job and protect our national securit Now, let's talk about another dr of jobs and growth.

Those damn roads.

We need safe roads to go to wor our kids off at school and run e Businesses need a solid transpor network to ship products and ensur their employees can get to work In 2020, I created Rebuilding M a three and a half billion dolla bond plan to fix most of our he trafficked state highways and br Why?

Well because for years, a lot of gove and legislators tried and failed done.

We've made progress on our state but let's be real.

My plan was always a short term There is a lot left to do.

And with rebuilding Michigan soo phasing out.

We're facing a serious funding c I'm hearing from construction co who are expecting layoffs because of the uncertainty.

We need a sustainable long term for our local roads.

Every pothole is a reminder that we must act now.

I mean, just take Michigan Avenu You drive it from the Capitol to You'll see what I'm saying.

It's like the surface of the moo Why?

Because the city of Lansing doing the best they can, But they only get about $17 mil from the state for local roads.

They need about 17 times that mu Around 300 million.

Michiganders in every part of our state are p about their roads.

Phyllis from Rapid City was evo in her description of Crystal Be It'll rattle your brains out, sh There's a road like that in ever We know that bad roads cost driv more than 750 bucks a year.

Now, I know there are a couple plans out there, including mine.

And I know none of them are perf But what's not okay is no plan.

Michiganders won't accept inacti To get it right we all have to recognize some ha To my friends in the GOP, a lon fix means new fair sources of re We can't cut our way to better r by slashing public safety, health or schools To my fellow Democrats.

To my fellow Democrats, cut will need to be a part of the so All right.

Some claps over here.

I mean, to the business community we can't put this on the backs of the middle class for all of u For all of us to be a par of the solution, we must all com And that's the way it ought to b Let's get back to the negotiatin in the coming days and weeks and find a long term bipartisan so we can fix more of those damn roads.

So the third big priority for 2025 has got to be results.

Let's start with permitting.

Permitting has been broken for a long time, leading to slower construction, and higher prices.

In Michigan, we're done waiting We already revamped Brownfiel redevelopment, making it easier to turn abandoned propert in a new housing factories or pa I signed an executive order eliminating 26 boards councils and committee without compromising protections And about a year ago I had my t every single one of our state pe All 401.

We found plenty of overlaps and obsolete processes.

This year alone struck state de and agencies who've missed their to refund any permitting fees that we can under the law.

But the reality is that I can on a handful through executive acti to really speed up permittin and save people a lot of time an We need to change state law.

There's a huge opportunity here for bipartisanship because I think we all agre that things shouldn't take so lo You shouldn' need to get a permit to sell gin install a model train, or lime y If you want to fix your driveway You shouldn't have to wai more than 90 days to get started If you want to upgrade your hous plumbing or electrical, you should be able to go to one and get all the help you need qu And if we can track the status of our dominoes order online, a developer should be able to d for their multimillion dollar pr this year.

Let's simplify permitting to get built on time and on budget.

Moving on to licensing, a lot of our licensi and requirements don't make sens Bethany from Lambertville and h a painter, moved here from Ohio.

He was fine for working on someone's house without a license even though he had one in Ohio.

That's ridiculous.

Despite our football rivalry I think we should honor their li I know a lot of barbers and hair go through this, too.

I know Representative Tyrone Car who's been working on this issue We all want to make it easier and faster and cheape for you to keep doing what you d It's why I directed the Departm of Licensing Regulatory Affairs or LARA to review all of Michig regulations and find redundant r They propose eliminating duplic exams, honoring trade licenses, giving entrepreneurs more flexi streamlining reporting requireme I can enact some of these chang through executive action, and I But others require a change in s This year, let's make it easier to get and keep a good job.

Not harder.

The last area where we must deman better results is in education.

Since I took office, we close the funding gap between and we built up our campuses.

We raised teacher pay, cut retir and trained thousands more educa In my budget, I proposed $10,000 investment into every child in every school.

We've done a lot of good but here are some hard truths.

Just 24% of our fourt graders can read proficiently.

The same percentage of eighth gr are proficient in math.

I get that this is a national tr but the reality is we invest more per pupil than m and achieve bottom ten results.

We spend more and we're getting and it's not acceptable.

For our let's do better.

Let's base our literacy crisi with the fierce urgency it calls Late last year I signed bipartisan legislation to use proven scienc of reading strategies like phoni It's how a lot of us learn to re And we should get back to it because it works.

These new law also require schools to test for so they can identif students who need extra help ear I want to thank Representative Matt Koleszar, senators Jeff Irwin and Dayna Polehanki for their leadership here.

Additionally, my education budg this year centered on the SMART or student metrics and results with transpa I proposed targeting investment in the schools where most kids a behind change to get funding into classrooms f without bureaucracy and more tra to notify parents about performa This year, let's pass a SMART education budget and get our kids on trac for the bright futures they all Now let's talk about mental and physical healt both of which are linked to acad Let's start with phones , which completely changed our children' 95% have access to a smartphone, and half of them say they're onl almost constantly.

Amy from Rochester Hills volunt recently on a sixth grade field You all remember field trips, ri The bus ride is loud and ful of excitement about the day ahea While on this bus, Amy said it w All the kids were glued to their Amy's daughter wishes she was born before social media Our educators get it.

It's hard to teach geography or when you're competing against me or DM's.

Other states red and blue have taken action.

So is most of Europe and Canada.

I understand the need to be connected to your But we can do better.

This year, let's pass bipartisan legislation to limit the use of phones in cl We've seen encouraging data about how common sense restrictions on phone use during lead to more learning and less b Kids listen.

They raise their hands.

They make more friends.

They talk during field trips.

Three quarters say they feel hap or peaceful without their phone.

That's what school should be all And finally, let's talk about va About 14% of high schoolers use We all know that this addiction term risks that starts early.

90% of smokers begin before 18.

If we don't act smart on vapes, we risk our children's health an That's why in my budget this ye I proposed closing a longstandin and taxing vapes similar to how cigarettes.

32 states, 32 states red and blue already do the same Including all of our neighbors.

I'm grateful to Senator Sam Sin who started work on this last ye In 2025 Let's get it done to protect our All right.

We're in the final stretch here, I think we're on the same page costs, more jobs and better resu But as I leave you, I have one q When you think of Michigan, what do you think?

For us, it's everything.

It's ho But let's ask ourselves when other people think Michigan what do they think when busines around the world think Michigan?

What do they think?

How about couples looking to start a family?

Entrepreneurs hoping to start a Seniors seeking a happy retireme Because if we're being honest, our brand has taken a beating over the last few decades after the Great Recession, the water crisis and disinvestment i and schools and health care, pe the margins were suffering in Mi Our water quality are old factor or sports teams used to be punc lines and cruel, unfair jokes.

I ran for governor to restore trust and rebuild Michigan.

I was sick of us being a punchin Now I am proud to sa I've got the best job in the wor because I get to help the Michi we all love live up to our poten Over the past six years, we've r in the fundamental and brought manufacturing back h We lowered costs for familie and our young adult population is growing faster than 45 other Our Lions are winning.

I didn't have anything to do wit that, but they are winning.

And now, in a divisive national momen where America needs a new way fo Michigan can lead because at our we are strong and kind.

And kindness is strength.

When you think Michigan, think about the people whose stories I share or the voices quoted in your pro Let them guide our wor because they're counting on us.

Consider what Josh from Grand R who moved here from out of state and now proudly calls himself a Michigander for life.

This is what he wrote about our state's character.

Our seasons are tougher, but ou are warmer and our lakes are fre Being a Michigander is about of someone a hand when trip and fal holding the door open trying to be a little better eve Whether we're negotiating here in Lansing or driving down a two road or holding open a door, let's be the Michig that Michiganders know.

We can be at a dark moment when and lying seem to be in style.

Let's be intentiona about putting light out into the Let's welcome challenges and embrace our differences and work together to get things Let's think Michigan.

Thank you.

Drive safely and good night.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivering he seventh State of the State messa She got through it.

It was touch and go there for a Now we want to go quickly to the Republican response before the top of the hour.

And we go now to the Republicans for that response.

Roll the tape, guys.

We just listened to the governor lecture for an hour about the state of our state.

But we all know there's more to than that.

So I'm here to tell yo the actual state of our state.

You know, Detroit is the only ci in the history of the world to drop in population by more than a million people from 1.9 million people to aroun today at our peak in the early e Michigan had 19 seats in the U.S House of Representatives.

Today, we only have 13 because of our population decli relative to the rest of the coun We have less power and less infl in Congress.

From 2000 to 2010.

Michigan was the only state in t that lost population.

The only one.

Under Governor Sny we were able to stop the bleedi but we're stagnant once again.

Michigan used to be one of th wealthiest states in the country Today, we're near the bottom when most of us think about Mich There's there's still this ide of our state as an economic powe the arsenal of democracy that was 70 or 80 years ago at t I'm not going to blame one part or the other, because we all kno both Republicans and Democrat have been in control at various And there's complex reasons for Michigan's decline.

But if we want the situation to be any different ten, 20 years from now we need to take drastic action t Fortunately, those actions are p simple.

We all want Michigan to be a pla where our kids can grow up, find a good jo and raise a family of their own rather than having to move to Te Texas.

Florida.

I'm state Representative Bryan P and the majority floor leader h in the Michigan House of Represe Now, I've been asked to give th Republican response to the gover state of the state address.

I love our state, but I was born in 1984 and Michigan has been on the dec for pretty much my entire life.

We now have divided government h in Michigan.

The Democrats currently contro the Senate and the governor's of Republicans control the House of Representatives.

That mean we're going to have to work toge if we want to get anything done.

I'll tell you one thing Republic have no intentio of using our majority to obstruc We will use it to lead.

We will lead on the issues you c Bringing down the cost of gover keeping more money in your pocke keeping our communities safe, and educating our kids.

You know, we're only two months and we've already made it harder for lawmakers to waste tax dolla barrel spending.

We also empowered the House Oversight Committee to make sure that your governmen is held accountable.

We'll make sure taxpayers are getting value for their money.

Now, the albatross, the state bu When Governor Whitmer took offi the state budget was $58 billion She's proposed 86 billion for the next year.

If the budget ha just just kept pace with inflati it only be $72 billion.

What's more last legislative ses started with a $9 billion surplu Your government squandered it.

All of it.

All that extra mone could have gone toward fixing th But it did could have gone towar educating your kids.

But it didn't.

And now the is talking about rai again.

We don't need to raise taxes.

We don't need more money.

We have more than enough money a In fact, House Republican already proposed a plan to fix t without costing you an additiona We need to focus on essentials.

Infrastructure.

Public safety.

Education.

With all that extra money in the there's even enough room to fix the roads and roll back the income tax.

Inflation is hurting everyone ri so we should let people keep more of their own money.

You know, m my grandpa taught me that before you can fix a problem, you have to acknowledge it.

Our stat isn't in a great place right now Frankly, it hasn't been for a wh Unfortunately, too many politici for too lon refused to acknowledge that prob We may not be in a great place t but I believe we can be.

So how do we return there?

How do we get back there to what we were as a great state?

First, our state needs to focus more of its people's money in their own pocket.

Michiganders know far better how to spend their o than the government ever will.

Second, we need to create safer for Michigan families.

And finally, we need to remind o that politicians represent us, not special interests, not mega-corporations and certainly not other countrie I believe the new Republican Par is one that represents the everyday American.

It is no longer the party of big and career politicians.

It is the party of farmers.

The party of plumbers, mechanics It's the party of the single mom trying to get her three kids to and from soccer practice, all while juggling a job and tr to figure out how to afford groc We are the party of practical so Thank you and I welcome you to j in bringing our state back.

Right.

That was the Republican response to the governor's speech.

A couple of minutes now before 8 Let me welcome to all of our vie our great panel, Chuck Stokes, Kyle Melinn, Cheyna Roth and Bill Ballenger.

So I've asked you for give me a quick headline.

Chuck.

Whitmer Seeks Common Grou for Michigan Governor Muscles Through a Bipartisan Plea.

I like that.

Whitmer Emphasizes Bipartisansh While side eyeing Trump Tariffs.

Governor seeks Republican Hel in fixing long list of Michigan Governor Tells the Truth on spending on school kids.

I can't remember a governo in all of these state of the sta who stood up there and said we spending more and we are getting In such blunt terms can I get an amen from anybody?

You get it from me?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That was pretty cand Compared to the rest of the spee I thought it stood out.

Yeah, No, I think it does.

I think that particularly given a Democratic governor, you know, actually saying the quiet part o loud was was pretty powerful.

And I think it was somethin that I think she is going she ha But there has been evidenc in the legislature that even Dem are having trouble working toget And I think that it was a smart to point out in order to get both sides of the aisle to really come together and to a heard their own cats as well.

Yeah, I agree with Cheyna on th because, I mean, this whole spee was about reaching across and trying to find people in a common are and do so in nonpolitical terms.

I think that's why I liked the s You know, this is the seventh on I think this is my favorite.

I really do because it felt a lot more genui It didn't have the harsh politi overtones that I think prior spe It didn't speak in ways of fight And let's rally around the flag for the flag sake.

I mean, it felt lik it was more about real problems people fac and a heck of a lot more relatab And I thought it was delivere in a way that seemed more genuin Maybe the fact that she had a c even felt made it feel even more You know, she seemed more relata that, you know, you you felt yourself rooting for he to get through this thing and deliver this message.

To bo word, a kinder state of the stat Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It wasn't in your face.

And I think she recognized the atmosphere that she is existing She has a Republican in the Whit who she has had fights with, but who she appears to no found common ground, or at least find common ground.

Say I'm not going to pick a fight wi I'll fight if I have to but let's not go there for now.

We ought to be able to find some that we worked together on and I think she sent message to both Democrats and Republican I agree with Kyle.

When she told the Democrats, she we're going to have to make some cuts here.

They didn't applaud.

But how often have you heard a Democratic governor say that to Democrat during the state of the state ad But by the same token the compromise road is a two way and she has run into a roadblock in the place of Mr. Matt Hall because when she goes to him and Speaker, we need revenue, by th she didn't say revenue increase.

She said we new revenue for the Of course we nee revenue for the roads, Governor.

We also need cement.

Okay.

But you get where I'm going int the compromise is not there yet.

Not there yet.

But I think the possibility of c is there.

I mean, she got Matt Hall to st up, shake hands with him on earm It took her 30 minutes and 5 se when she finally got what she wa Some Republicans stood up at various points in t which they haven't in the past.

I think she really reached out I think, to the Republican sayin I'm ready to make a deal.

You know, we proved we could do She didn't talk about a prevaili paid sick leave, but we've got the ground work he She said the other day, Matt Hall, I finally got somebo I can work with as a Republican Well, she can get things.

She also said he also had he was one of the only guys, including me, she said who had the guts to give a propo Yeah, she's trying to get there.

Yeah.

Yeah, she does.

And I think tha this was a very optimistic speec but at the same time it was also calling out the Repu a little bit, saying, look, we all know that we need to do some bipartisanship here.

And I think that's the reason why we heard it in the the Republican response by by Brian Posthumus.

Everybody is kind of realizing we do want to make sure that we don't seem iner and that we have a big election We all need to be getting things And the only way forward is thr bipartisanship and not obstructi And I think her saying tha so consistently throughout the s is really holdin their feet to the fire on that.

Yeah, I think I think she was al to connect a little more with t at home with real issues that th I was really struck by the idea who can't afford their health in or their health bills anymore and maybe a pot of money to help people who can't pay for as opposed to talking about som a bit more obtuse like a a drug affordability board, you know that's been brought up before bu Right.

Exactly.

And said she said, I know there who have exhausted their life sa because they have a medical issu and we want to try and find some money to go along to help these people.

The 700,000, I think, is what s that and then also the cell phon You know, kids at home who are glued to their phone the whole time, a completely re experience that folks at home wo Yeah, my kid does that all the t I can't talk to them.

Banning cell phones in school.

Even the Republicans even Aric Nesbitt said today in conference, Yeah I think we can do something on t Tells me.

I've seen no one stood on that no one clapped on that particula That's because most parents at want their connection with the k 24 seven Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That is going to be the key thin But they're going to the polls that the people want this done.

Get the cell phones, the one with no kids, no the people with Yeah.

Yeah.

People with kids.

But because those are not, are not always seen as safe because we have an issue with s shootings that is going to be wh the rubber meets the road i how do you reduce school for sch How do you reduce the students using their phones in school?

But still have give them that ac in case something does go wrong, in case there is a problem, that is where you're really goin that tension.

You got to craft it in a way where you aren't taking away, quote unquote, all their freedom but in a narrow way so that it's not interferin with the academics in the classr So you can't just sa you can't have them in school at You got to say you can't have th when you're in the class, but you can put them in your loc or somewhere else.

There are times when you can ha and she's smart enough to know that you're never going to ban cell phones in the school from the time they walk in the until the time they leave the do That's not going to happen.

Well, there's there's logistical with that, too.

What time am I getting picked up Somebody's going to bring me hom You know, I got to stay after ta I mean, there's logistical reas why you have to do it in the cla That's where problems Come in.

There's not an either or.

It's not no cell phones or let them fly.

Most schools right now have a no cell phone polic or a limited cell phone use in s But they can you can do i on your own at the local level.

She's just trying to say all yo districts out there who haven't we are to have a state polic saying you got to do it, everybo Well, she's tryin to give the local governments co because you've got these local boards who are getting grief fro who are saying if there's a shoo going on in my classroom, I want my kid telling me that sh he is okay.

And they don't they don't want t back on these people.

They don't want to they kind o they're kind of cowering to the This gives them cover because now they can say, oh, w the state says this is what we g So if you look at Traverse they've had these ban for years.

Well, it's an individual look, the supes ar the ones in the school boards that are on the front line and they do need cover.

But she's also got to give the wiggle room for local control.

Okay.

Maybe there's a theme and variat Maybe you can keep your phone in class, right?

Right.

Yeah.

Or in study hall.

You've got to craft it in a very careful way in which you get the D's and the on the same page on this one.

And you need help from the paren But you got to do it in a way where they won't feel as thoug you are restricting access to th Maybe the maybe a statewide poli but then a local opt out.

Maybe if the school board has something different they want to do, they can seek from the Department of Education which shouldn't take more than t to resolve according to what if the big that's another that was another big thing anti- you know seen the Democrat.

The process Billy is not very sexy.

Okay you know what if you look if you just you she made it a li I think that I must have been sl It's primarily an economic devel It's we should have a one stop you know, permits to fix your dr How about the secretary of state to get it done.

Yeah, well, she made it relatabl You know, I think there's plenty of peopl who have licenses from other sta by spite, you know sort of breaking it down to like if you're a builder and you're from Ohio and you com you should be able to build you like reciprocity.

Yeah, I really digging into i on a sort of like normy person l I thought she did a good job of and it makes it accessible to pe You know, the Senate majority le went through in his speech da with the with reporters and he g he ticked off, like for example who are running into problems, not being able to get their per for seemingly real easy things.

You know, you would think that this would be an easy thing, li cut to take care of a huge devel He talked about an aluminum recy plant.

Couldn't get a curb cut, too to advance the ball on their pro And she did same thing.

She she talked about relatable p and she says, hey, yeah, I know I got a problem and now I'm going to fix it.

I need your help to fix it, too.

That is been a Republican issu all along at the national level and here in Michigan.

And she is making a big pla to the Republicans, saying, hey, I feel your pain.

I agree wit we got to make this a simpler pr And and what I thought was inter is the amount of tim she spent talking about the hous And I think this goes across the whether you're in the U.P.

and you're in a rural are or you're in the heart of these and young people coming up, whe they can afford to get that firs and whether or not if you have a you can keep your home.

If you have to wait, Chuck, until you're 56 to buy your fir you're not going to stay in Mich This you know what I mean?

That's why a lot of you know, we just got married.

I'd love to buy a home but set your watch for 56 years and we're going to we're going to be ready.

We're going to buil that dream, American dream, want first house and making it afford to be able to do that.

And I thought was also interesti It was quick, which she did an i shout out to Detroit, which got a good round of applau across the board.

And we all have been around here long enough to remember.

It hasn't always been that way.

When Detroit was mentione in the state of the state addres the bipartisanship, you know, they want to jump off this momentum of last week.

I'm not sure unrelated issues are linked together.

Not necessarily but we'll find out soon enough Tim.

On the roads.

On the roads, big deal coming up And there's got to be local road That's another thing Republican claiming she's on board with tha She's she's earmarke $1,000,000,000 for local roads.

Okay.

Absolutely.

That's what I'm talking about.

And you wonder on this bipartisa is what's driving this.

You know, is it is i because this is kind of the teno Does she have her finge on the pulse of where people are that they're really tire of this kind of feeding off, loo like what Mike Duggan's doing you know, going on the Independe maybe this is where people are and putting herself in a positio that as I'm building my legacy, this is my last show.

If I'm going to do this, I've got to do this.

Now if you're right, she ran on She got into office on that issu And I think she wants to be able to look down the line and say, I'm not too fa from going through the exit door And I want to be able to say at that I made a major difference o from a personal standpoint and in terms Speaker Hall, he seems to have interest on thi as he's building his career.

So I think, Bill, you're right, they might be able to find some common ground but the devil's going to be in t it was always been there in the that both parties ought to work together.

Remember where this governor gre She grew up around a dinner tab with a Republican and a Democrat her face and then talking politics with the Democratic mom and the Repub And she grew up on Bill Milliken Okay.

This this is deep for her.

This is in.

Yeah.

You know, when she started when she started, the tenor was about Donald Trump And people were really angry or very excited.

There was a lot of energy on the and it seems like that has dissi The yeah, I mean, you don't see that it's gone away.

It has it has the the anger is just not there.

And people and they ar people are so exhausted really t Trump won and so they got to li and they better figure it out.

How are we going to do this?

And they're right here in Michi like Mundy Township in Genesee C He didn't want to see that go down the tubes.

She talked about what the president did about th exactly which is exactly what sh when she said last December, I want common ground.

I want to work with this preside And some Democrats went, What?

Y Well, she's being very pragmati and she may very well need Hall and other Republican to reach out to President Trump when she sees things happening t that she and they do not think are goo for this state in this national what you know is what you talk about not to have optim but you talk about first impress They're important but last impressions are importa And guess what?

She's got two years left and her and her reputation as a governor is going to depen on these last two years looking There's not going to be any 2028 for Gretchen Whitmer if she doesn't do well in the next two years.

And I think she realizes tha and she wants to get things done She wants to get Republican help She wants to show the countr she can be a kind of Mike Duggan state governor and be an indepe who accomplishes things like peo I would roll that back, Bill.

I think she's got one year.

I think she's got this year because I think 2028 or 2026 is going to be a gubernatorial y and the different candidates are going to suck a lot of oxyge out of the room.

You've got the Senate minority l and he could they coul do you have a tied chamber at th That could be he' going to be running for governor You've got a senator over there who is the chair of the Republic I mean, just think of the Senat which is a very real possibility What the leader is running for and you got a member there who's Republican Party chair and I think politics is going to insert itself big ti So this is the yea she's going to do this.

This yea She can't push it into '26.

She can get it done this year.

S She could If she can't get it do it won't get done.

Intimating there for her future political future.

Is that what you were referencin So you think she's running for p No, I don't necessarily.

But if there's any possibility she is, she sure as hell can't s 2025 and '26.

That's what I'm thinking.

Just in case all the cards line up.

Well, she can certainly say I tr That's not good.

That's not good enough.

What if she could make the cas that the Republicans didn't want That's not going to be good enou I think that Republicans are really covering their tracks with thi by making their statements that.

They are also interested in bipartisanship, that they are agreeing with her on certain things.

I don't thin I think that they have learned f mistakes of what they don't want is look like the ones that were obstructionist.

I think people are sick of obstr And he said in his speech they said, we're not a purple st Exactly.

No Matter what.

Yeah, yeah.

How about this thing with Mr. Tr Is it working?

It seems to be right now.

I mean, Trump Trump' willing to bury the hatchet on p I mean, he pointed Rubio and to his cabinet.

I mean, he just appointed Gretchen Whitmer to the Council of Governors.

He appointed.

Answer He did not have to do that.

He didn't have to do it.

He seems to be willing to bury if you're willing to work with h And she seems to be willing to work with them.

And so, you know, as long as th as they have, you know, joint in that they can advance together Township, like you've mentioned, they're going to they're going and they're going to give it a t I was going to ask you, though has she said whether she's out o Senate, the governor?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, pretty much.

Yes.

She because she doesn't want to You know, she said, oh, gosh, I don't thi you know, it's not in her wheelh I think you can you see her among 100 guys mostly guys down in Washington, sitting around shooting the bree not getting anything done.

This is a woman who wants to get things done.

If she was eight years in the S in the minority, and I don't thi I agree with Tim.

It's very difficul to go from the executive branch in which you are just one of large number and you have to neg You talk with all of our living and each one to the person will da if you want to get something don where you go is the governor's o You don't go to Congress you don't go to the US Senate.

If she if she was 65 years old she might go retire in the Senat But she's not.

A number of U.S. senators around the countr in the last few years who could forever and been reelected, chose to go back to t and be a governor because they can get don and they feel like you're just o fish down here and a bull swimm getting nothing does a good one time.

Just keeping an eye.

You're not going to shoot it out of the sky.

I think it's still a possibility Let's see, TV news is simplified Okay, 1 to 10, ten being a boffo Okay, Kyle I'll let go first since you liked it.

1 to 10.

What are you giving?

I give it an eight or nine.

I liked it.

I got 8-9 too.

Oh, same thing.

Yeah.

We will make this a tie.

Eight o Yeah, I was a little lower than Maybe it' because I felt sorry that she wa That's, like, tough to grind thr of those.

Well, you want make it a ten.

There you were at ten on the num ten fighting with the cold.

All right, everybody.

All right.

She's got a ten.

I was waiting for her to pass th baton to Garlin Gilchrist I was looking through and she turned around to him.

I thought you.

He's going to give her some NyQu or something.

But Bill and I were talking.

There was actually a governo who could not deliver a state of because he was sic and handed the speech over to th Fred Warner in 1907, 1907, and personal Secretary And Jocelyn Benson will like thi Jocelyn Benson will like this, secretary of state before he was All right, folks I got to put a ribbon on this th Thank you, Chuck and Kyle and C and nice to have you back with u You know I love being here.

Bill for showing up.

More of the goo off the record this week we ha going to be talking about the sc And next week, put this in your the new Republican Party chair and hopefully the new Democratic chair.

He's signed off We're waiting to hear from him.

See you on Friday.

Good night, everybody.

Thank you for watching.

Michigan Public television' coverage of the 2025 state of th brought to you in par by business leaders for Michigan Dedicated it to making Michigan a top ten state for jobs, talen and a thriving economy for all o For Michigan, more informatio at businessleadersformichigan.co Michigan Academy of Family Phys representing over 4200 family me physicians and medical student dedicated to providing physician led, team based to patient cente primary care for all ages.

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