Senator Patterson offered the following resolution:

            Senate Resolution No. 130.

            A resolution to request that the Governor reimburse the community of Livonia for the jobs and economic losses resulting from the move of Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit.

            Whereas, Quicken Loans is clearly one of the state's commercial success stories. From its home in Livonia, Quicken Loans has grown to become the nation's premier online mortgage lender. Indeed, with state and local financial assistance, Quicken Loans has expanded from 500 employees to over 4,000 in seven short years; and

            Whereas, The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Quicken Loans, however, have recently announced that, with the help of up to $200 million in state incentives, the firm will relocate its operations to downtown Detroit. This move may be an economic shot-in-the-arm for the city of Detroit, but it is a devastating loss to the city of Livonia, which has made significant investments in economic development efforts on behalf of the firm. Indeed, in conjunction with a 2005 state-local financial assistance package that led to a major expansion of Quicken Loan's facility in Livonia, the city supported the project by providing a parking agreement  for the mortgage lender's employees that alone was valued at $200,000; and

            Whereas, Economic development incentives are an important component in the state's job development efforts. These scarce resources should be directed toward strategies that promote new job development and the relocation of jobs into Michigan and not merely toward reshuffling the deck on workplace location of existing businesses. This type of economic development activity is more than just inefficient. It brings true economic harm to local businesses and local communities that have made significant investments mirroring those of the state. Clearly, the state should take responsibility for its actions and reimburse the city of Livonia for its loss of Quicken Loans. This reimbursement could be easily provided in the form of special tax incentives or revenue sharing enhancements; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate, That we hereby request that the Governor reimburse the community of Livonia for the jobs and economic losses resulting from the move of Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.