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June 4, 2005Granholm touts planGovernor wants $2B to boost tech jobsByRecord-Eagle business editor MACKINAC ISLAND - Gov. Jennifer Granholm stumped here for a $2 billion state bond proposal to bolster the state's technology-related job base. The governor said a "Jobs for Michigan Fund" bond that lawmakers expect to put before voters in November would help diversify the state's economy and create more than 70,000 new jobs in the life sciences, alternative energy and homeland security industries. "These are niches for us," Granholm told an overflow crowd Friday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel. "Other states are doing this; we are behind the eight ball." Granholm said some Republican lawmakers want to limit the bond proposal to $1 billion, but she argued that's not enough. The governor said investment from the proposed jobs fund would be decided by business experts and insulated from political influences, and be independently audited. "We want to make sure it's strong enough to do the job," she said. Republican legislators are wary, though. "I'm dubious about it," said state Rep. Howard Walker, R-Traverse City. "We're borrowing money that we're going to have to pay back sometime, and when the money's gone have we created the infrastructure and investment to create more jobs?" Granholm's aides said the chamber audience's enthusiastic response shows the proposal has support in the business community. "I think she was heartened by the support in the room," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. "We're hearing some lawmakers say there's no sense of urgency, but we reject that. Clearly the business community is looking for some signals from the state, and we need to act now." Granholm outlined other proposals for shaking the state out of its economic doldrums, including her plan to revamp the state's single business tax to ease the burden on manufacturers. "There is no doubt that as a state our fortunes are tied to the manufacturing sector," Granholm said. "When that sector struggles, our state struggles."
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