Gov. Snyder: 2013 is about connecting talent, jobs
By Chris Gautz
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Gov. Rick Snyder said 2013 will be about talent and helping to connect those looking for work with the scores of jobs already available in the state, as the past two years were spent on measures to offer a positive business environment in Michigan.
In an interview with Crain's Detroit Business in his executive office, Snyder said this morning he has several major events planned early in the year to help the private sector and the educational community collaborate effectively.
"I think we are going to lead the country in this," Snyder said. "There is this mismatch of supply and demand, and there's a lot of great opportunity."
The state website he helped create and often touts, www.mitalent.org, shows more than 44,000 jobs are available today. If they all were filled, the state's unemployment rate could be lowered by two percentage points, he said.
"These are good jobs," Snyder said. "That's a big initiative I want to continue working on, and we're set up after the first of the year to work on that."
In March, he is planning an economic development summit, to bring the private sector together to talk about talent and what skills are needed. Then in April, he plans to have a statewide education summit to talk the supply side, and how to help get those students the skills they need.
"The role of government in all this isn't to do everything, it's to be the clearinghouse coordinator between the private sector and the education sector," Snyder said. "So that's something really exciting."
While he has talked about the talent piece before, the past two years have mostly been focused on large-scale changes to the tax system and regulatory reform.
On the "done" side of the ledger, Snyder points to the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and creation of the Corporate Income Tax, his signage of right-to-work legislation, the pending Personal Property Tax repeal, worker's compensation reform, regulatory reform, the elimination of more than 880 net business rules and the Michigan Finance Authority's bond deal to allow the state to repay its $3.2 billion unemployment trust fund balance, as just some of what has been accomplished in the first half of his first term.
"We've done so many things, I'm not sure people recognize all the stuff we've done," Snyder said with a laugh.
He said the bond deal, which was the largest fixed rate bond deal ever, according to the state and was recognized by The Bond Buyer as the "2012 Deal of the Year," has not gotten as much attention as some of the other reforms.
That bond deal will save every employer in the state "significant dollars per employee" next year, Snyder said.
While statewide rankings tend to lag, Snyder said it is hard to see why Michigan should not be in the top 10 in the country the for best business climate.
"We have done a tremendous amount to create a much better environment," Snyder said.
He said part of that will be making sure people know exactly all that Michigan has done.
"We're going to market it, too, we're not going to be passive about this," Snyder said.
Regarding the Personal Property Tax repeal bills on his desk, Snyder is expected to sign them and said he will stump for passage of the statewide vote in August 2014 that will allow the diversion of tax funds as the main mechanism of reimbursement for local units of government. Without passage of that vote, the PPT repeal dies.
"It's a jobs initiative," Snyder said.
In the meantime, businesses should be communicating with their suppliers and customers that this is a good thing, he said. Michigan was one of the few states in the Midwest that still had a tax like this, and it didn't make sense to discourage investment, he said.
Energy
During his special message on energy and the environment earlier this year, Snyder called for a discussion on raising the renewable portfolio standard above 10 percent — the rate at which it is supposed to be by 2015.
Snyder said he expects that discussion to take place throughout the year with stakeholders.
He added that the state is already doing better than the 1 percent goal regarding energy efficiency and noted that some states have a 2 percent goal.
"I put energy efficiency as a key priority, even ahead of renewables," Sndyer said, adding the best energy is what you don't use.
Snyder also praised Consumers Energy for its recent announcement to construct a new natural gas plant, rather than build a new coal plant. Snyder, in his special message, encouraged utilities to do more with natural gas. He said it was "exciting" to hear the Jackson-based utility was being so proactive.
Snyder's image
When Snyder was elected, he projected an image of a self-described "nerd" who was not a politician and also not a typical Republican who focused on social or other divisive issues.
When other states moved forward with laws against collective bargaining, as in Wisconsin, or in the case of right-to-work, as in Indiana, Snyder continued to say such a law was not on his agenda. The negativity that came with such moves was counterproductive to the message he was trying to send, that Michigan was a great place to grow or locate a business.
But that changed when he surprised nearly everyone and asked for right-to-work legislation and then signed it within a matter of days during the lame duck session. He then went on national television to defend the legislation, as images of fights at large protests on the Capitol lawn and State Police troopers in riot gear filled the screen.
Still, Snyder says nothing has changed, as far as he is concerned.
"I'm not trying to build an image, define an image. My goal is to do a great job and I think that's in line with where I've always been," Snyder said. "This is about great customer service government, doing what's best for the citizens of Michigan who are my customer," Snyder said. "I still believe I'm probably one of the more non-political people out there. I'm a politician by definition, because I'm in elective office, but I don't make decisions based on political ramifications versus what I believe is good policy for our citizens."
Gun legislation
In the wake of the massacre at the elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, Snyder said he has not made any decision yet on signing Senate Bill 59 but has asked his team to conduct an expedited review.
Among other things, the bill would allow those with specialized training to be able to carry guns into schools, churches and daycare centers.
"It's just not about one issue," Snyder said.
Snyder said he asked his team today to look at what is done now for school security policies and what the state recommends, what can be done on the mental health front and the gun piece.
"It's not just isolated to the gun piece, it's looking at all three of those in some thoughtful way," Snyder said.
He wants his team to look at those quickly so they can come out proactively and take a position on all three pieces. And if his team discovers some pieces during its review that would need legislative action, he would look to lawmakers to send him such bills in the new year.
Other 2013 agenda items
Passage of the controversial Educational Achievement Authority legislation also is near the top of his list.
"That was one of our initiatives. I'd like to see that done," he said.
He will also continue to push for an overhaul of the state's automotive no-fault insurance system.
"We need to improve on that," he said.
And later this year, he plans to conduct a summit on the Great Lakes and look at other environmental opportunities.
Snyder's transportation funding overhaul did not go anywhere in the Legislature this year after he laid out his plan in one of his special messages, and that will again be on the list to get done in the next two years. But, he said, "it could be harder" to do in the new term.
"The environment right now is somewhat strained," Snyder said. "That's where I hope people step back and look at what's best for our citizens. I think all of us know we need better roads and bridges in the state."
Democrats have vowed that their anger over his signing of right-to-work legislation will not end this year but will spill into 2013 and beyond.
The biggest piece of his agenda relating to transportation, the building of the New International Trade Crossing between Detroit and Windsor, is continuing in a positive fashion, he said.
"That's moving ahead," Snyder said. "We're just waiting for a presidential permit."
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