LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 9, 2025) — With population growth largely stagnant, a workforce rapidly aging towards retirement, and too many Michiganders struggling to make ends meet, today, the Michigan Senate passed comprehensive, bipartisan legislation championed by Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) to establish a 10-year economic development plan for the state.
“We’ve spent years talking with residents, business owners, and economic developers across Michigan, and here’s what we’ve learned: our current approach to economic development just isn’t cutting it,” said Sen. McMorrow, Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic and Community Development. “Real economic growth requires vision and measurable metrics. My legislation gets at the heart of what actually makes communities thrive — it sets out a clear, long-term roadmap to make sure every corner of our state has the tools and resources to succeed, not just today, but for generations to come.”
The plan outlined in Sen. McMorrow’s Senate Bill 213 would be holistic in scope, assessing the many diverse needs of different regions around the state, including infrastructure, transportation, housing, and more, and then developing specific strategies to address those needs.
Built in bipartisanship, Senate Bill 214 — sponsored by Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) — would create a Strategic Advisory Board tasked with the initial creation of this 10-year plan. The board would be comprised of voting and non-voting members from all around the state, representing a wide range of skillsets, backgrounds, and industries, who would be responsible for updating the plan each year.
This legislation was crafted using extensive feedback from conversations Sen. McMorrow held with fellow state senators, local business leaders, economic developers, residents, education and community leaders around the state. From those discussions, a common theme emerged — the need for Michigan to adopt a long-term, sustainable, and coordinated economic plan to provide consistency and stability amid changing political landscapes.
This legislation now heads to the House for further consideration.
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