While 2004 presented its share of challenges, the dawning of 2005 offers us hope for the New Year and beyond. My vision for transforming Michigan from the “buckle of the rust belt” to the “epicenter of the 21st century economy” includes laying down a firm foundation for Michigan’s economic future while making changes that enhance Michigan’s citizens’ lives today.

In my State of the State address nearly one year ago, we laid out a 7-point plan to grow Michigan’s economy and create new jobs. We set out to:  1) retain businesses already located here, 2) attract new businesses and entrepreneurs, 3) develop a 21st century workforce, 4) create ‘cool’ cities, 5) ensure quality educational opportunities, 6) make health care more accessible and affordable, and 7) make Michigan a national leader in protecting its environment.

I am proud to share with you the following accomplishments of my Administration in 2004. As you will see, we made good progress this year, but know that more remains to be done. We are looking forward to 2005 and the new opportunities it affords.

Four areas in which we made major accomplishments in 2004 are:

1.  Economic Development:  We made a half-billion dollars available to attract entrepreneurs to the state; created Regional Skills Alliances; reduced the amount of red-tape businesses face when seeking permits from the state; and fought for legislation to retain businesses and the jobs that go with them. Michigan attracted new businesses, including small businesses which grew by 2,400; seven companies opened new headquarters here this year; and state support helped create or retain 130,000 jobs.

2.  Education:  We protected education by challenging state universities to hold the line on tuition increases; we funded—for the first time—K-12 education at higher levels as promised by the previous administration; we avoided cuts to the per-pupil foundation grant as recently as this month; and we appointed the Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth which has outlined a roadmap for universal education in Michigan.

3.  Health Care:  We expanded affordable health care to 300,000 uninsured people by opening federally qualified health care centers in Jackson and Detroit; we offered Michigan residents more affordable prescription drugs through the MiRx Card, and enrolled nearly 50,000 children in the Healthy Kids and MIChild programs.

4.  Administration:  We put the state's financial house in order by eliminating a $3 billion deficit; we trimmed $220 million in contract expenses; we saved $13 million by eliminating 2,500 cars from the state’s fleet; and we saved $14 million in administrative costs by turning off the lights, eliminating color copying and reducing cell phone use.

And following is a comprehensive listing of my Administration’s accomplishments in 2004:

Economic Development

·         Created or retained 130,000 new jobs in Michigan

·         Maintained Michigan’s #1 ranking for automotive R&D in the nation—10 R&D companies announced new investments here

·         Companies working on bio-research in Michigan increased by 13 percent this year

·         Visteon Technical Center, Saab Cars USA and Hyundai America Tech Centers all opened headquarters in Michigan this year, ensuring that Michigan maintains status as the state with the most North American automotive headquarters in the country. (Borg-Warner and Affinia will establish headquarters here in the next 12 months)

·         Pushed for and signed legislation to help Michigan retain businesses and the jobs that go with them, resulting in the protection of Federal Mogul jobs and attracting Toyota’s new R&D facility

·         Workers’ compensation insurance rates are lower than neighboring states; will drop as much as ten percent this year

·         Reduced red tape for businesses seeking permits to open or expand by creating MiTAPS, an on-line, one-stop permitting shop. Thirty-five permits for businesses are now available on-line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week

·         The Department of Environmental Quality’s pilot air quality permitting process reduced permitting time from 18 months to ten days

·         Firms with fewer than 100 employees increased by 2,400 in 2004

·         Foreign investment in Michigan is growing. The metro-Detroit area was ranked #2 in a national survey of European business investments in the states

·         Created a half-billion dollar pool of money to attract and retain entrepreneurs through the Emerging Business Fund, Venture Michigan Fund and the Small Business Growth Fund

·         Invested $25 million in the Technology Tri-Corridor to ignite investment in life sciences and high-tech job creation

·         Turned 58 unused industrial sites into viable business sites

·         Created 13 Regional Skills Alliances (RSAs) to help job seekers get the skills necessary to fill available jobs

·         Moved 4,600 parcels of abandoned property into a new state authority, ensuring they can finally be redeveloped and put to productive use    

Education

·         Preserved education funding for Michigan’s school children

·         Maintained Michigan’s K-8 educational standards as the most demanding in the nation

·         Sought major revisions of child care licensing standards—including new requirement for annual training for providers

·         Ensured minimal tuition increases for college students

·         Charged the Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education with the development of strategies to double the number of college graduates to create a highly-educated and well-trained workforce

·         Doubled the number of Family Resource Centers (FRC) providing family services in Michigan’s highest-priority schools

·         MEAP math scores for 4^th and 8^th graders increased; MEAP scores for high school students increased, including a 10-point gain in reading scores

·         120 schools on the state’s high priority list made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2004 and will not be on the list going into 2005

·         The proportion of 8^th grade African-American students meeting or exceeding MEAP standards in math increased 13 percent

·         Launched effort to create “Learn to Earn” centers in local communities to redirect high school drop-outs back into learning centers where they can learn skills to contribute to the economy 

Health Care

·         Reduced prescription drug costs for 20,000 people by introducing the MiRx Card which provides discount prescription drugs to uninsured families

·         Improved access to health care for 300,000 uninsured citizens in Jackson and Detroit through creation of new federally-qualified health centers

·         Enrolled nearly 50,000 children in the Healthy Kids and MIChild programs—exceeding the state’s goal by more than 25,000 children

·         Pushed for and signed legislation to reduce lead poisoning in Michigan’s children

·         Signed legislation creating a 24-hour hot-line to report abuse in nursing homes

·         Proposed a rule that would cut insurance base rates and ban the use of insurance credit scoring

Environment

·         Introduced sweeping legislation to prevent Great Lakes water from being diverted from Michigan

·         Implemented 60 recommendations from the bi-partisan Commission on Land Use that will protect Michigan’s natural beauty and encourage development in our core cities

·         Preserved more than 48,000 acres of farmland, wetlands and wildlife habitat

·         Prisoners collected nearly 51,000 bags of trash from 6,400 miles of highway

Transportation

·         Redirected limited road funding to fix Michigan’s worst roads first—repaired or preserved more than 4,200 miles of roads

Corrections

·         Sent nearly 600 parole violators and fugitive felons back to prison in statewide sweeps