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Governor to give final State of the State Tuesday

Michigan House Republicans

Governor Rick Snyder delivers his eighth State of the State address Tuesday. The State of the State is a yearly event where the governor lays out his priorities for the upcoming year.

Some lawmakers have wish lists for what they want the governor to talk about.

Speaker of the House Tom Leonard (R-Dewitt) has several major topics he wants the governor to focus on, like the need for mental health reform. But Leonard says it’s also important for the governor to stress the accomplishments of the Republican Party.

“I think he needs to remind the citizens of the state of Michigan how far we have come along over the past seven years as well,” he said.

Leonard’s counterpart on the other side of the aisle views the past seven years a little differently. Representative Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) leads the Democrats in the House. He says he’d like to see the governor address areas that haven’t seen growth in the last seven years – like schools and infrastructure.

Others will be focused on what comes after the address.

“What I’d like to hear him talk about, which I think the state of Michigan needs more than ever, is really transparent leadership,"said Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint)."And what I mean by that is, when you say you’re going to do something, do it.”

Environmental groups have one very clear priority for the governor – water.  On Monday, environmentalists called on Governor Snyder to talk about the importance of protecting Michigan’s water during his address.

Lisa Wozniak, the executive director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said the governor has the chance to present a bold vision for an issue that affects everyone.

“The governor could and should address this in a way that unifies our state and talks about the importance of building new partnerships,” she said.

This is the governor’s final State of the State. He is term limited and a new governor will take over in January 2019.