Rick Snyder calls for ‘era of innovation’ in State of the State

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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder called on lawmakers to usher in an “era of innovation” in his second State of the State address on Wednesday.

Snyder began the speech by touting the accomplishments his administration achieved in 2011, chief among them the unemployment rate falling to its lowest level in three years, at 9.3 percent.

He also noted his administration ended the Michigan Business Tax, which he called “just plain dumb,” prompting loud cheers from the Republican lawmakers in attendance.

Snyder expressed disappointment that obesity rate remained at more than 30 percent and announced a new program designed to fight childhood obesity, called Pure Michigan Fit.

Snyder said more progress is needed to be made on college readiness for students. Less than 20 percent of Michigan students are college ready, he said.

“We need to be 100 percent college and career ready for our students,” Snyder said.

Snyder also made bringing down crime levels around the state, and specifically in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Pontiac, a priority for 2012. He announced that in March he will speak on crime in the state and ways to bring down the crime rate.

He renewed his calls for a government-owned bridge to Canada and a rapid transit system in Detroit to create jobs for the state.

He again called on Congress to create a new health insurance exchange in order to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, drawing cheers mainly from the Democratic caucus.

The governor praised the state’s budget surplus and called on the federal government to look to Michigan as an example of how to deal with deficits. He also defended his controversial appointments of emergency financial managers to cities and school districts statewide.

Occupy protesters chanting “Recall Rick!” outside the chamber were heard during the speech.

Political science professor James Hill said in an email the speech was predictable and lacked specifics, which is typical for an election year. All of the House of Representatives is up for re-election this year.

“There were no surprises or bold moves,” Hill said. “He gave more details about outhouse regulations and his weight loss progress than he did about the key issues facing the state including the Detroit financial crisis and the controversial revised Emergency Financial Manager Law. (The speech was) neither inspiring nor particularly informative.”