Michigan taxpayers will give more than $16 million to a private manufacturing company, Gentex. The company is spending $300 million to expand operations over three years, which it claims will create 500 jobs.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to announce the subsidies to Gentex, a high-tech electronics manufacturer for the auto, aerospace, and fire safety industries.
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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation must fully disclose the total value of taxpayer subsidies it has offered to General Motors, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled.
The court’s unanimous opinion in Sole v. MEDC held the MEDC must disclose, without redactions, the total amount of corporate subsidies promised to GM.
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Approximately $9.1 million in taxpayer-funded grants for business projects in Michigan expected to create 420 jobs are in three business expansions and a new semiconductor apprenticeship program.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced the economic development, saying it would “build on our leadership in key industries, and support vibrant communities across Michigan.”
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The Mackinac Center for Public Policy (MCPP) is suing the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), saying it won’t explain how it calculates the return on investment for its Pure Michigan tourism program.
MCPP requested the documents via the the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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General Motors (GM) garnered national headlines when it promised to invest $6.5 billion in Michigan, but the people negotiating the deal’s claw back provisions might only require GM meet half of that investment and 80% of the original job creation promise, despite taxpayers still footing an $824 million subsidy.
When in front of the press, GM and Michigan promised the factory would support 4,000 jobs and retain another 1,000 – a cost of about $206,000 per job created, and if it failed, Michigan could claw back a sizeable portion of that money.
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Often at the center of controversy, Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing transparency questions, along with leading state Republican lawmakers, after they signed nondisclosure agreements preventing them from informing taxpayers about a pricey new economic development initiative.
Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, and House Speaker Jason Wentworth all signed the NDA with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation regarding a $1 billion business incentive program that became law last week, The Detroit News reported.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the Legislature to provide more taxpayer money to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to attract businesses, but an economic development analyst and GOP leader disagree.
Citing Ford Motor Company choosing Kentucky and Tennessee to build electric vehicle battery plants instead of its home state, Whitmer called on legislative leaders to give the MEDC “more resources and more advanced procedural and legal tools” to pursue projects.
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