Dear Colleagues:

I am starting my eighth year as a state employee, and I am proud to wear that title. I know that the vast majority of you share these feelings of pride. In fact, the results of last fall's employee values survey indicated that nearly 70 percent of you said you are proud to be a public servant. Your pride confirms my conviction that we truly have a great workforce. In my State of the State address last week, I publicly shared my pride in you when I told our citizens, "The main reason we've been able to do more with less in state government is because our state workers are, without a doubt, second to none. Please join me in honoring and thanking these incredibly dedicated public servants."

I know you want to have a clear sense of our overall direction in the months ahead and our central strategy to strengthening this state we love so well. So, I thought you might appreciate a high level summary of the State of the State address I delivered last week - "Working Our Plan, Securing Our Future," - in which I detailed the next steps necessary to diversify Michigan's economy, create thousands of new jobs, protect our families, and maintain our quality of life.

While we have already been hard at work on the plan, this year, we will take it to the next level. We will continue to invest in the 21st century economy by going anywhere and doing anything to create jobs. And we will continue to fight to protect the jobs we already have by keeping the pressure on Washington leaders to partner with us on things such as crafting a national health care plan, promoting fair trade policies, and reforming pension laws - all initiatives that can help our state's struggling manufacturers.

To ensure that Michigan has the best-educated workforce in the nation, we will enhance our investment in education and the quality of our schools so that all of Michigan's children have an opportunity for a quality education and have access to higher education. I've asked the Legislature to act by March 1 on my proposal for a beefed-up core curriculum, and I've asked them to move forward with my new $4,000 Merit Award scholarship to ensure that every Michigan student has the tools they need to succeed and the opportunity to continue their education beyond high school. I also called for new investments in the 2007 budget for after-school programs and for early childhood education. In addition, I've called for measures to protect children from bullying; I've asked that parents be notified of their children's progress at school and absences from the classroom, and I've asked that our teachers have access to the training necessary to help them maintain discipline in the classroom.

We will also invest in the citizens of Michigan by dramatically increasing the number of people who have access to affordable insurance. I have proposed a revolutionary new health care plan to provide access to affordable health insurance to more than 500,000 uninsured Michigan citizens. The Michigan First Health Care Plan will make affordable private health plans available to small business employees, the self-employed, and the working poor who do not have access to traditional employer-based health insurance or government-run programs. By cutting Michigan's uninsured population by half, we can create significant savings for businesses and citizens who ultimately end up subsidizing health care for the uninsured.

To further protect Michigan's families, I have outlined a series of new measures to protect their financial and personal security. I've asked the Legislature to allocate an additional $25 million to help provide home heating assistance. I've asked them to raise the minimum wage and to cut insurance rates by 20 percent. I've also asked them to pass tough new ethics standards, to demand corporate responsibility, to provide workers access to pension savings plans, and to require criminal background checks for employees in nursing homes and elder care settings.

I want you to know that I spoke very specifically about the work that you do and how we are working together for the people of Michigan. With assistance from you and your colleagues, we have helped to create and retain 327,000 jobs that might otherwise have gone to some other state or nation, more than 1,600 new small businesses opened their doors here last year, and there are 99,000 more Michigan citizens at work right now than when I first took office.

As we take the next steps in securing Michigan's future, I want you to know that I want to take them with you. Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do to make Michigan a great place to do great work.

Sincerely,
Jennifer M. Granholm
Governor

P.S. To read the 2006 State of the State address in its entirety, visit www.michigan.gov/gov.