MIDLAND, Mich. — The 2023-24 legislative session in Michigan saw a total of $4.7 billion in select business subsidies approved. This is the most since the 2007-08 legislature and near the state’s all-time high.
“At a time when lawmakers say that roads desperately need new money, the last legislative session suggests they have other priorities,” said James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “This $4.7 billion alone would have helped fix Michigan roads faster than they fall apart, cut the income tax or been used on a number of other priorities.”
In December 2024, the Democratic-led Michigan House and Senate approved the creation of an innovation fund, allocating $60 million in grants. This funding, redirected from the state’s general fund, brought total business subsidies for the session up to $4.7 billion.
Select business subsidies are ineffective at creating jobs, expensive to taxpayers and unfair to other businesses. They fail to deliver the jobs that lawmakers announce when they make deals. A review of past major corporate incentives showed that only one out of 11 jobs projected were created.
To promote transparency and accountability, the Mackinac Center has updated its Business Subsidy Scorecard, which tracks how Michigan legislators voted on these measures. Two current lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, and Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, top the list, voting for more than $7 billion apiece in select corporate subsidies.
For more information on the scorecard and to view legislative voting records, visit mackinac.org/business-subsidies.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for a free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams.
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