Hire Michigan First In The News
Dems to Senate: Put the 'Hire' Back in 'Hire Michigan First'
House Democrats send stronger plan back to Senate for action
— Thursday, June 18, 2009
LANSING – A Michigan House panel sent the "Hire Michigan First" job-creation plan to the full House today, moving quickly on aggressive legislation to ensure that Michigan residents – not those from other states or countries – get first crack at jobs created by taxpayer dollars. The plan will also crack down on those that hire undocumented workers by canceling their state contracts and tax incentives. >>More
Plan to Create Jobs Now for Michigan Workers Advances to House Floor
'Hire Michigan First' will boost economy, crack down on hiring illegal workers
— Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009
LANSING – A Michigan House panel sent the "Hire Michigan First" job-creation plan to the full House today, moving quickly on aggressive legislation to ensure that Michigan residents – not those from other states or countries – get first crack at jobs created by taxpayer dollars. The plan will also crack down on those that hire undocumented workers by canceling their state contracts and tax incentives.
"Clearly business as usual is not working for Michigan employees and businesses," said State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens), the lead sponsor of the package. "With unemployment reaching the double digits in Michigan, it's more important than ever to make sure that Michigan tax dollars are creating jobs for Michigan residents. In this economy, we must fight for every single job."
The "Hire Michigan First" plan will:
• Award state tax breaks and other economic development tools to companies that hire the most Michigan residents. This rule would apply to projects handled by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and certain state-funded programs, including the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, the Renaissance Zone Act and several others.
• Encourage transparency and accountability by requiring companies that take economic development incentives to report on who they hire to ensure that Michigan residents are put first.
• Crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers by canceling their state contracts and tax incentives, requiring them to pay back incentives they received and barring them from future contracts.
"Rewarding companies that hire Michigan workers is a common-sense solution," said State Representative Robert Jones (D-Kalamazoo), the Chair of the Commerce Committee, which approved the legislative package. "Michigan has the best workers around, and they should get the first shot at doing the jobs that their own tax dollars make possible. By getting more folks back to work, we can help more families stay in their homes and get our economy back on track much more quickly."
