Thread: Hire Michigan First Bill Passes State House

Hire Michigan First Bill Passes State House
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March 12, 2009 - 4:25 PM

If you're looking for a job, you could be one step closer to being a top priority when companys are hiring.

House democrats passed the Hire Michigan First plan Thursday.

It rewards employers who fill their staff with workers from our state by giving them development incentives.

The plan also cracks down on companies who hire undocumented workers.

ABC 3 spoke with lawmakers about the bill earlier this week- some say passing the legislation is a no-brainer.

"We absolutely need to hire michigan citizens, michigan legal residents first," said Sate Rep. Joan Bauer.

Companies who do not hire state workers would be required to pay back their state incentives- they could also be barred from future contracts.

The bill is now headed to the state senate for approval.

www.wlaj.com

Democrats want a 'Hire Michigan First' law

Thursday, March 12, 2009 6:07 AM EDT

By Charles Crumm, Journal Register News Service

A proposed movie studio in Pontiac is projected to create some 3,500 jobs and state House Democrats want those jobs to go to Michigan residents.

Democratic lawmakers on Monday used GM's shuttered Truck Product Central Center in Pontiac as the backdrop for proposed "Hire Michigan First" legislation.

The Democratic-controlled state House wants this week to pass the measure that would give companies state economic incentives to hire 100 percent Michigan workers. They said the Republican-controlled Senate should move quickly to pass it too.

"We want to make sure Michigan workers get hired first," said state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, whose district includes Pontiac. .

The "Hire Michigan First" proposal gives state tax breaks and other economic development incentives to companies that hire the most Michigan residents.

The rule would apply to projects handled through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other state-funded programs.

The plan would also require companies that accept incentives to document who they hire and crack down on companies who hire undocumented workers by barring them from future state contracts and requiring them to repay any incentives they receive.

Trade unions, which have also suffered job losses along with the state's automotive and manufacturing industries, support the plan.

"We have the best-trained workers in the country," said Scott Lowes, the Oakland County director of the Michigan

Regional Council of Carpenters. "We're ready."

But a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said requiring 100 percent hiring of Michigan workers by any company may run afoul of federal commerce laws.

"I think they're going to have serious legal challenges on that one," Bishop spokesman Matt Marsden said. "The Republican position has always been that government shouldn't be dictating how businesses operate, but we would look at incentives to hire and use Michigan-based companies."

www.dailytribune.com

Now if we could only get our Federal government to support American workers!