SR-232, As Adopted by Senate, December 18, 2008

            Senator Brown offered the following resolution:

            Senate Resolution No. 232.

            A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to assist Michigan in rebuilding the state's economy, in light of Michigan's high rate of unemployment and pressures on the state's Unemployment Trust Fund.

            Whereas, Our nation is facing an economic crisis, the depth and breath of which has not been seen in decades. With Michigan's historic connection to the automotive industry, the Great Lakes State's economic struggles have been a precursor to the nation's economic maelstrom. Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate and has lost 538,000 jobs since 2000. Clearly, federal assistance is necessary to help Michigan restart its economic engine and help drive the national economy back to full recovery. Given the severity of Michigan's economic downturn, the state should be given priority when distributing stimulus dollars to spur economic growth in our country; and

            Whereas, Indeed, Michigan is now at a tipping point between economic despair and recovery. Technological innovation and business reforms and efficiencies adopted in response to Michigan's "one-state recession" are already paying dividends. However, the national economy and numerous federal policies have continued to negatively impact our state's ability to pull itself up by its bootstraps. Chief among these are Michigan's longtime status as a donor state for federal highway funding dollars and the relative lack of federal public works and defense investment in this state; and

            Whereas, Congress could be of great assistance in our state's economic redevelopment efforts, in particular, temporarily suspending the federal match for highway infrastructure investment, improving the state's share of federal highway funding so Michigan is no longer a donor state, and giving greater weight to Michigan firms in contracting would provide an immediate stimulus to our stagnant state economy. Moreover, longer term efforts such as creating tax-free state economic recovery zones; reducing taxation on innovation, production, and investment; allowing states to designate certain areas of the state as exempt from federal corporate taxes capped at $1 billion per year; enhancing investment tax credit availability; and targeting federal infrastructure investment to those states with the highest rates of unemployment would help provide economic stability where it is needed the most; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate, That we hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to assist Michigan in rebuilding the state's economy, in light of unemployment and pressures on the state's Unemployment Trust Fund; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.