From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009
10:45 AM
Subject: What the Governor's talking about this week
What the Governor’s Talking about This
Week
Friday, November 20, 2009
- Governor Unveils Plans to
Merge Two State Departments
- Governor Announces Nearly
13,500 New and Retained Jobs for Michigan
- Michigan Must Be a Winner in
Race to the Top, Governor Says
- Governor Visiting Oakland
Community College Today to Support Promise
Scholarships
Governor Unveils Plans to Merge Two
State Departments
The governor on Tuesday announced plans to merge
the departments of Management and Budget (DMB) and Information Technology (DIT)
to form a single department that further integrates information technology into
the administrative services currently provided by DMB and DIT.
Kenneth Theis, current director of DIT, will
oversee the consolidation of the two departments and ultimately be named
director of the new department. The current DMB director, Lisa Webb
Sharpe, has accepted the position of senior vice president for finance and
administration at Lansing Community College, an appointment that begins in
January.
In her 2009 State of the State address, the
governor asked Lt. Governor John D. Cherry Jr. to lead a comprehensive effort to
create a state government that provides better service at less cost to
taxpayers. The governor requested a plan to reduce the total number of
state departments to eight, bringing long-term structural change and savings to
the executive branch of government.
The merger of DMB and DIT is a
further result of the lieutenant governor’s work, which has identified eight
core functions of state government. Since May, the lieutenant governor and
his workgroup have sought input from legislators, state employees and the public
on what services a restructured and streamlined government should
provide.
Key messages:
• The
Granholm administration is continuing to reform, restructure and streamline
state government.
• This merger reflects the enormous role of
technology in streamlining government and serving Michigan citizens. By
merging DMB and DIT, the Granholm administration is building on its work of
pursuing all possible efficiencies.
• When the governor took office, she
inherited a state government that had grown to the constitutional maximum of 20
state departments. With the merger of DMB and DIT, the number of state
departments will total 15, a 25 percent reduction since 2003. In addition,
the governor has eliminated nearly 200 state boards and
commissions.
Governor Announces Nearly 13,500 New and
Retained Jobs for Michigan
On Tuesday the governor announced that the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is helping 10 companies grow in Michigan
and backing two brownfield redevelopment projects. Combined, the 12
projects are expected to create 2,245 new jobs (877 direct and 1,368 indirect),
retain 11,254 jobs and generate over $791 million in new investment in the
state.
The projects include the expansion of a high-tech
electronic and aerospace company in Walker, a new facility in Battle Creek for a
manufacturer that plans to produce materials for the advanced-battery sector — a
project that is the direct result of the governor’s September 2009 investment
mission to Japan — and brownfield redevelopments that will transform abandoned
and contaminated sites into new centers of economic growth and
activity.
Key messages:
• These
projects align with the economic sectors targeted by the Granholm administration
for growth, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy and life
sciences.
• The scope of these company expansions and
redevelopment projects demonstrates that Michigan has the competitive business
climate, infrastructure and talented workforce that companies are looking for as
they compete in the global marketplace.
• The Granholm administration’s aggressive
strategy to grow and diversify the state’s economy continues to produce results
for Michigan workers.
• A key element in winning these projects for
Michigan is the state working with its regional economic development
partners.
Michigan Must Be a Winner in Race to the
Top, Governor Says
In her radio address this week, the governor said
Michigan must be one of the winning states in the U.S. Department of Education’s
Race to the Top competition for it could mean up to $500 million to improve
Michigan schools.
Race to the Top is a competition in which all 50
states are racing to reform their education systems so our children can compete
in a global economy. Only a small number of states will be winners, and
they’ll be rewarded well. Each will receive as much as half a billion
dollars in federal Recovery Act funds to improve their schools.
Key messages:
• Michigan must be one of the winning
states. To win, we need to put forth our best and boldest ideas for
helping all Michigan students succeed in our K-12 schools, in our colleges and
universities, and ultimately in our workplaces. And we’ll need to turn
around our lowest performing schools, boost the number of high-quality charter
schools and increase the ranks of effective teachers and
principals.
• Michigan got a head start on the Race to
the Top five years ago. That’s when we committed ourselves to doubling the
number of college graduates in the state. The Granholm administration made
important changes that are now helping more students of all ages to earn college
degrees, such as high school graduation requirements that are among the toughest
in the nation.
• We can win this race, but we don’t have a
lot of time. Critical education reforms must be in place before
Christmas. The state legislature already is working on education reform
bills that will require quick action.
• To create good-paying jobs in Michigan, we
need the best-educated workforce on the planet. That requires having
schools second to none. Race to the Top is the best way to get there, and
we are determined to win the race.
Governor Visiting Oakland Community
College Today to Support Promise Scholarships
The governor is visiting Oakland Community
College’s Royal Oak campus this afternoon to stand with students and educators
from OCC and Oakland University who are calling for restoring the Michigan
Promise scholarships. On Monday, the governor will visit Eastern Michigan
University.
More than 15,000 students at Oakland Community
College receive financial aid, and 1,436 students were eligible for Promise
scholarships.
At Oakland University, more than 12,000 students
receive some form of financial assistance. Nearly 3,000 new and returning
OU students were eligible to receive Promise scholarships this year, and last
year more than 2,200 students received Promise scholarships.
Earlier this week the governor visited Michigan
State University, Saginaw Valley State University, Central Michigan University,
Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University.
Key messages:
• The
Senate Republican leadership eliminated the Michigan Promise from this year’s
budget. Education is a priority for the Granholm administration, but
apparently not for Senate Republicans.
• The fight to restore the Michigan Promise
scholarship is winnable. However, it requires the voices of students, parents,
educators and other interested parties to be heard loud and clear.
• Members of the Senate are hired by and
accountable to the people, and they need to hear from people about restoring the
Promise scholarships.
• Funding for the Promise can be provided by
slowing down a scheduled increase in the state Earned Income Tax Credit.
Instead of raising the EITC from 10 percent to 20 percent, if we raise it only
to 12.5 percent, we can fund the Promise scholarship.
• We need the Senate Republican leadership to
take action. Through an earlier vote, the Senate has already shown it is
willing to use money for the EITC increase for another purpose. We can pay
for the Promise by slowing the rate of increase in the EITC. This is one
way we can keep the Promise.
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