Michigan lawmakers crafting new $1.3 billion proposal with eyes on Ford project
Lansing — Michigan lawmakers were preparing Tuesday their second billion-dollar spending proposal of the year with at least half of the money to be dedicated to luring a Ford Motor Co. battery plant to Calhoun County.
The Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee voted 14-5 at about 6 p.m. Tuesday to advance a $1.3 billion bill that would allocate $630 million to prepare the Marshall area site for the Ford project, send $170 million to the state's business attraction fund and provide and $75 million for health care worker recruitment, retention and training.
The full Senate could vote on the measure later Tuesday night. It would then move to the House.
The proposal will likely test whether Democrats, who narrowly control the state Legislature, want to continue to shell out taxpayer funds to lure large economic development projects and whether minority Republicans are willing to help them do it.
In committee, five of the six Republicans voted against advancing the proposal.
State Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, said he was frustrated the bill didn't provide more specific details about where the money for the Ford project would go.
"It doesn't seem very transparent what we're doing today," Albert said.
The legislation would be the second spending bill of at least $1 billion to pass in 2023 and the third to pass since lawmakers approved the state's current budget on July 1. That budget included a $1 billion spending spree on a variety of special projects.
More:Legislature's $1B spending spree obscured backers, aided donors, disclosures show
Michigan fiscal experts estimated in January the state had a $9 billion surplus.
On Jan. 31, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $1.1 billion spending bill, which set aside about $200 million for the revitalization of an Upper Peninsula paper mill and deposited $150 million into the state's Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund.
Lawmakers established the fund in 2021 to chase large development projects and to prepare sites for potential businesses.
Earlier this month, state economic development leaders asked lawmakers to deposit another $800 million into the SOAR Fund with most of the money going toward $750 million in infrastructure improvements at the Marshall site that Ford will use for a planned $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant.
The new bill features $330 million for road improvements for the Marshall site for the Ford battery plant project and $300 million for other elements of developing the site. It wasn't immediately clear Tuesday if additional SOAR money would go to the project.
The planned improvements include $75 million for additional land acquisition, $100 million for water and wastewater improvements and $330 million for the Michigan Department of Transportation to widen roads and reconstruct two highway interchanges in Calhoun County for the new Ford battery plant, according to an MEDC report presented to lawmakers last week.
More:Average pay at Ford's Marshall battery plant would be $45,000 a year
Ford officials announced earlier this month that a subsidiary wholly owned by the automaker expects to invest $3.5 billion to construct the 2.5 million-square-foot battery plant, called “Blue Oval Battery Park Michigan.”
The plant will employ 2,500 people with pay ranging from $20 to $50 an hour. Ford will license battery technology from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL — the world's leading LFP battery maker — but CATL will not receive tax incentives.
The new spending bill includes $67 million for nursing home workforce grants, $10 million for community violence intervention grants, $60 million for community center grants and $1 million for economic development statewide planning.
The bill also features $9.9 million for a career and technical education complex at North Central Michigan College and $3.7 million for the student aviation center at Northwestern Michigan College. The money will bring hanger improvements and purchase aircraft for the instruction of student pilots, according to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.
North Central Michigan College is located in Emmet County. Northwestern Michigan College is in Grand Traverse County. Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs represents both areas. He was the lone GOP lawmaker to support the bill in committee.
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