MICHauto is committed to ensuring the state remains the best place for its investors and industry stakeholders to do business and advance the automotive and mobility sector. Through its advocacy at the state and federal levels, MICHauto will prioritize the following items:
2024 MICHauto Policy Priorities
Business Competitiveness
MICHauto will continue to champion a regulatory and tax climate that will provide Michiganders and the automotive and mobility businesses that operate here an atmosphere in which they can succeed.
- Advocate for a regulatory environment that rewards, not hinders, existing businesses and those endeavoring to build businesses here in Michigan.
- Champion streamlined permitting processes that will speed growth and reduce the cost of doing business.
- Help establish the most user-friendly business attraction incentives in the nation that will encourage the expansion of existing Michigan businesses and bring new opportunities to the state.
- Help reshape economic development incentives, such as the SOAR Fund, to make them easy to understand, access, and administer for existing and speculative businesses of every size throughout the state.
- Encourage commitment and utilization of state-level incentives to act as a match to leverage federal grant funding, particularly under programs such as the Defense Production Act, the IRA, and similar funding opportunities. Set a strategic goal to fully fund an ongoing program for match dollars going forward.
Innovation
MICHauto is cultivating the state’s technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem to foster the industry’s ongoing evolution and diversification.
- Reduce barriers to advancing autonomous vehicle (AV) and electric vehicle (EV) technology development to ensure Michigan’s continued global leadership in testing, innovation, and investment.
- Move to make permanent a critical moratorium on local government units from setting fees or regulations on AV technology testing and deployment.
- Continue championing legislation that incentivizes greater R&D investment in Michigan’s mobility sector.
- Work to ensure the final passage of the state’s first-ever R&D tax credit in 2024.
- Advocate for the federal-level reinstatement of immediate R&D expensing, restore a pro-growth interest deductibility standard, and extend full expensing.
- Support the creation of an innovation fund to sustain and grow Michigan’s startup community and emerging companies in the automotive, mobility, and technology spaces.
- Encourage increased investment in minority- and women-led startups and for equitable investment of state funds.
Sustainability and Infrastructure
MICHauto will work to ensure the state’s global competitiveness with the infrastructure needed to attract and retain the world’s top automotive- and mobility-focused businesses and secure the industry’s environmental and economic longevity.
- Support increased state funding for physical, supply chain, and energy infrastructure to make Michigan an easier, more reliable place to do business.
- Promote additional funding for public and fleet charging infrastructure and point-of-sale incentives for purchasing EVs.
- Continue to support federal-level permitting reform to increase domestic access to critical raw materials and reduce regulatory barriers that delay clean energy projects.
- Champion legislation that positions Michigan as a leader in alternative fuels, including adopting a statewide Clean Fuel Standard, which will catalyze growth in hydrogen, biofuels, solar and wind technology, and other renewables.
Talent and Workforce Development
MICHauto has developed its High-Tech Talent Strategy to address education and workforce development to ensure automotive and mobility companies have a robust pipeline of skilled professionals to fill the jobs of the future.
- Support continued funding for key workforce development programs like the Going PRO Talent Fund.
- Champion increased funding for Michigan’s PreK-12 system to support reforms like improving student-to-counselor ratios.
- Reduce barriers and creating additional pathways to employment to support the jobs of the future through advocacy for:
- Federal-level immigration reform, such as expanding worker visa access to bring more high-skilled workers to Michigan.
- Reviewing the state’s criminal justice laws to support citizens entering or re-entering the workforce to foster greater productivity.
Let’s build Michigan’s automotive and mobility future together.
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