New state office will focus on growing Michigan’s population

Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced a new state office to help implement a plan intended to reverse Michigan’s population decline after she announced earlier this week that she was disbanding the Growing Michigan Together Council.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) on Friday announced the creation of Michigan’s Growth Office, which it said would be tasked with implementing the bipartisan council’s blueprint for growth.

Passed in December 2023, the report identified key issues within the state contributing to a loss of tax revenue to fund schools, public amenities and quality of life in Michigan communities. Chief among those issues was a population decline exacerbated by a lack of young people moving to or remaining in the state.

The Michigan Growth Office, the creation of which follows Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signing earlier this week of an executive order deeming the Council’s work complete , will be led by Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe, who Whitmer says will use the council’s recommendations to initiate programs designed to increase the state’s population.

“Michigan is focused on growing our state’s population and economy by retaining current residents and attracting new Michiganders,” said Whitmer. “… With Detroit’s population growing for the first time in 67 years and the momentum on our side, let’s keep working together to build more affordable housing, lower the cost of education from pre-K through college, and create good-paying, high-skill jobs in cutting-edge industries. Let’s set Michigan up for decades of growth and make it the best place to call home.”

In a release from the MEDC, it was noted that approximately $45.5 million in funding was allocated to support Michigan’s population growth efforts in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget passed last month by the Legislature .

According to the MEDC release, additional budget allocations align with what were described as the “three pillars of the blueprint for growth”:

• Establishing Michigan as the innovation hub of the Midwest and “America’s Scale-Up State” while tackling barriers to labor force participation.
• Building a lifelong learning system focused on future-ready skills and competencies to ensure all Michiganders have access to 21st-century opportunities.
• Creating thriving communities that are magnets for young talent, including places that are climate-resilient, transit-rich and housing-accessible.

However, a policy brief issued in March by researchers with Michigan State University and Wayne State University said far more funding would be needed to realize the council’s conclusion that the state’s public schools needed to be invested in so they could better develop workforce skills that would spur economic development.

“Today, annual state revenue collections are $12 billion below the 1978 Headlee constitutional amendment that caps state revenue at a fixed percentage of state personal income. This disinvestment is apparent in specific policy areas such as education,” said Mike Addonizio, professor emeritus of education leadership and policy studies at Wayne State University.

According to the brief, about $4.5 billion of additional revenue would be needed to fund the needed resources identified in a nonpartisan 2018 School Finance Research Collaborative study it says aligns “quite well” with the report from the Growing Michigan Together Council.

That funding would best be realized with a graduated state income tax, which David Arsen, a professor emeritus of education policy and educational administration in the MSU College of Education, says could generate additional state revenues with higher rates on very high incomes while reducing tax rates for most taxpayers .

“This may be the most promising approach to fund investments that are so essential for a more prosperous Michigan,” said Arsen.

With the political realities in Lansing such that major tax reforms are not likely anytime soon, Doe will begin the efforts of the new Michigan Growth Office with the resources at hand.

“It will take all of us linking arms and leaning in with sharp elbows to reverse Michigan’s population trends. Investments made by Governor Whitmer and the Legislature to continue the Growth Office’s work is reflective of the ongoing commitment I’ve seen from Michiganders across our state to build an even brighter future here in Michigan,” said Doe.

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