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 Added on March 3, 2025  Sara Swanson

State of the State: Takeaways, fact-checks from Gretchen Whitmer big speech

by Jordyn Hermani  (Bridge Michigan)

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday urged political unity and made the case for growing Michigan economy by investing in education and affordable housing during her penultimate State of the State address.

“Now, in a divisive national moment where America needs a new way forward, Michigan can lead,” Whitmer said before a joint meeting of the new Republican-led House and returning Democratic-led Senate.

“Because at our best, we’re strong and kind. And kindness is strength.”

In her seventh annual speech to the Legislature, the second-term Democrat proposed steps to boost male enrollment in higher education, streamline business permits, limit cellphones in schools, fix roads and tax nicotine products like vapes, among other things.

With Republicans now controlling the state House and White House, Whitmer reiterated her hope to find “common ground” with President Donald Trump and said she has urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send another fighter squadron to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.

But she questioned Trump ongoing threat to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which she said would “slow down construction, shutter small businesses, lead to layoffs in the auto industry” and cost Michigan families more at the gas pump and grocery store as a result.

While Republicans praised some portions of Whitmer speech, her calls for bipartisan cooperation fell flat with some critics.

State Rep. Rachelle Smit, R-Martin, accused Whitmer of  “trying on her best Republican impersonation” and questioned whether her proposals will amount to anything more than “great talking points.”

Here are the biggest takeaways — and fact-checks — from Whitmer Wednesday night address.

Education push, gender gap for young men

While Whitmer has proposed a funding increase for K-12 schools, she acknowledged ongoing academic struggles in Wednesday night speech: “The reality is that we invest more per-pupil than most states and achieve bottom 10 results,” she said.

To that end, Whitmer urged lawmakers to support what she calling a “SMART education budget” that would provide additional funding for schools where kids are falling behind and require schools to notify parents about performance struggles, among other things.

The governor also said she will sign an executive directive to try to get more young men to seek higher education or skilled trades training through the state Michigan Reconnect program, which offers free or low-cost tuition. Women currently outnumber men 2-1 in the program, Whitmer said.

“My message tonight goes out to all young people, but especially our young men. I know it hard to get ahead right now. But I promise you, no matter how hard life might get, there is always a way out and a way up,” Whitmer said.

“The last thing any of us wants is a generation of young men falling behind their fathers and grandfathers.”

Call for road funding compromise

Earlier this month, Whitmer floated a $3 billion roads plan that called for a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts but did not include many details, including whether she wants to raise the state 6% corporate income tax.

In her Wednesday night speech, Whitmer acknowledged a competing plan by House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, noting there are “a couple different plans out there, including mine, and I know none of them are perfect.”

But harkening back to her 2018 campaign pledge to fix crumbling roads, Whitmer said having no plan is “not okay” — and neither is “inaction.”

To Republicans, Whitmer said a long-term fix should include “new, fair sources of revenue.” To Democrats, Whitmer said cuts “will need to be part of the solution.” And to businesses, Whitmer said “we can’t put this on the backs of the middle class.”

“For all of us to be part of the solution we must all compromise, and that the way it ought to be,” she added.

Speaking with reporters after Whitmer speech, Hall said he has a positive relationship with the governor but does not support her roads plan.

“I put a plan on the table that would fix our roads without raising taxes by prioritizing roads over corporations,” the House GOP leader said. “Gov. Whitmer … her plan raises taxes. We can do it without raising taxes … and I intend to show her how to do that.”

Fact check: jobs

While Whitmer devoted the bulk of her speech to forward-looking promises, she also touted past successes.

At one point, she claimed Michigan has repeatedly been named a “top 10 state for doing business,” grown its gross domestic product (GDP) by 35%, added roughly 40,000 automotive jobs since she took office and raised median household incomes.

It’s true that Michigan has made several national Top 10 lists in recent years, including a No. 9 ranking in last year’s CNBC report on “top states for businesses” and No. 10 in Site Selection’s annual business climate rankings.

But closer to home, Business Leaders for Michigan last year ranked the state 27th in the country for economic prosperity and said “significant work remains.”

The state’s GDP has risen by nearly 35%, as Whitmer noted, but her auto jobs figures appeared to be far off the mark — or based on jobs that companies have pledged but not actually created.

According to the most recent federal data, Michigan has added 16,500 auto manufacturing jobs since Whitmer took office in January of 2019 but lost 20,900 auto parts jobs. Combined, auto and parts manufacturing jobs have declined during Whitmer’s tenure.

Call for more housing

Notably absent from Whitmer speech: Any reference to the Strategic Outreach Attraction and Reserve Fund (SOAR), a corporate incentive program the governor has championed as a means to attract business investments.

Funding for the SOAR fund is set to expire this year, and Whitmer budget proposal includes only a $200 placeholder to keep negotiations with the Legislature alive.

Instead, Whitmer used Wednesday night speech to call for $2 billion in spending to “build, buy or fix” nearly 11,000 homes, adding the state should make “the largest housing investment in Michigan history” next year.

Details were sparse, however, and it was not immediately clear if Whitmer was asking the Legislature for more money. She touted a $1.4 million affordable housing push in last year speech, but that was existing funding, not new money.

Still, housing is a priority for Whitmer, who last month announced a $10 million program to partner with employers in order to address Michigan statewide housing shortage.

“Getting this done will create more than 10,000 construction jobs, lower costs, and help more people achieve the American Dream,” she said, adding that Michigan is short about 140,000 housing units statewide, prompting the need to “build baby build.”

Permitting and licensing

Returning to economic development, Whitmer said she wants to reform business permitting and licensing processes, which could also help combat the state affordable housing gap.

The governor said she will instruct all state departments and agencies who’ve missed their deadlines “to refund any permitting fees that we can under the law.”

“But the reality is that I can only refund a handful through executive action alone,” she said, urging lawmakers to help with other reforms. “To really speed up permitting and save people a lot of time and money, we need to change state law.”

Whitmer also called for honoring trade licenses, giving entrepreneurs more flexibility, streamlining reporting requirements and eliminating what she referred to as “duplicative exams” to speed up the permitting process.

The governor push to refund permitting fees was announced earlier in the week and won some praise from Hall, the GOP House leader, who said he was”encouraged” but suggested the state instead eliminate the fees altogether or roll back recent increases.

“Rather than raising the fees and then refunding them, we could just lower the fees or eliminate the fees,” Hall said Tuesday. “So that would be a real positive thing.”

Fact check: Tipped wage deal

In her speech, Whitmer also celebrated a recent bipartisan deal to amend court-ordered wage and sick leave laws but did not accurately describe one of the changes she signed into law.

“Because we worked together … the tipped minimum wage increased by the largest amount ever, and will keep going up,” Whitmer said.

In reality, the deal scaled back a planned phase out of a subminimum wage for tipped workers, such as restaurant servers, which would have guaranteed them a higher base pay rate.

The deal Whitmer signed into law was sought by restaurant owners and some workers who wanted to preserve the existing tip system, but it was strongly opposed by labor unions.

The Michigan Supreme Court last year reinstated a 2018 petition drive that would have raised the $4.01 per hour sub-minimum wage to nearly $15 an hour by the end of the decade.

The revised law will not phase out the sub-minimum wage — as called for in the initial initiative — but instead raise it to 50% of Michigan standard minimum wage by 2031.

Cracking down on cellphones, vaping

Whitmer called for passing legislation to “limit the use of phones in class” and cracking down on vaping through an expanded tax, as previously reported by Bridge Michigan.

Acknowledging that cellphones can help parents stay connected to children at school, Whitmer said the state “can do better” by enacting a policy to limit — but not necessarily fully ban — student phones in classrooms.

The plan could win bipartisan support in Lansing, where State Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, is expected to reintroduce a proposal for statewide cellphone restrictions in schools that he first pitched last year.

“We’ve seen encouraging data about how commonsense restrictions on phone use during class lead to more learning and less bullying,” Whitmer said.

“Kids listen, raise their hands, and make more friends. … Three-quarters say they feel happy or peaceful without their phone — that what school should be about.”

Whitmer also urged lawmakers to enact a tax on vaping products similar to how cigarettes are taxed in Michigan, calling the practice an addiction with “long-term risks.”

A number of states already tax these products, but Republicans in Michigan have raised concerns about raising any taxes in a state where spending has increased significantly in recent years.

“If we don’t act smart on vapes, we risk our children health and futures,” she said. “That why, in my budget this year, I proposed closing a longstanding loophole and taxing vapes similar to how we tax cigarettes. … In 2025, let get it done to protect our kids.”

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at  .