Michigan’s ‘corporate giveaways’ machine faces shutdown under new bills

Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, introduced a legislative plan to eliminate the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, an agency intended to create jobs but one that has left a trail of failed job creation plans.

The 53-bill package would rein kill several programs in the state’s corporate welfare system.

Some of the MEDC’s functions would be shifted to a newly created Bureau of Fair Competition and Free Enterprise, which would include an independent compliance officer to help monitor how the state spends taxpayer money on economic development efforts.

“The MEDC has failed massively and is beyond repair,” said Albert in a news release. “They have wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on risky corporate giveaways and suspect grants to politically connected recipients. It’s time to shut down the MEDC, retain only those programs with a proven track record, and ensure decision-making for taxpayer-funded projects has accountability.”

Albert said the plan would ensure Michigan’s economic development programs have “concrete and measurable benefits” to the state.

Senate bills 631 through 683 would:

• Eliminate the MEDC, Michigan Strategic Fund, Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund, Strategic Site Readiness Program, the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office and other programs. Money dedicated to the MEDC and Michigan Strategic Fund would be returned to the state’s General Fund.

• Create the Bureau of Fair Competition and Free Enterprise within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. It would wrap up existing MEDC obligations and continue several programs, such as brownfield redevelopment and renaissance zones. New renaissance zone projects would be subject to a limit to $50 million and 15 years, and the act would sunset after five years so it can be reevaluated.

• Strengthen oversight by establishing an Office of the Chief Compliance Officer to operate independently of the new bureau. The compliance office would assist with creating, monitoring and enforcing policies to prevent illegal and unethical conduct.

“We cannot continue replacing one failed corporate welfare scheme with another. Michigan has tried that state-directed approach for decades, and it doesn’t work,” Albert said. “We should get government out of the way and instead lower taxes and reduce bureaucracy so Michigan job creators and workers can lead the way to a brighter economic future.”

The MEDC has spent about $1 million on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s worldwide travels in 2025, CapCon reported. The agency has come under fire for giving businesswoman Fay Beydoun a $10 million grant, which she spent on a $4,500 coffeemaker, $100,000 sponsorships, and a $500,000 salary for herself. The agency disburses money and is supposed to create jobs.

Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, and Rep. Jaime Green, R-Richland, said that 89% of the MEDC’s revenue comes from taxes on tribal casinos and online gambling, which should be considered taxpayer money.

The agency has largely failed to create jobs through subsidies, according to a study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Whitmer claims to have secured 36,000 jobs, but the state has lost 9,100 jobs since 2019, CapCon reported earlier this year.

Only one of every 11 jobs promised by Michigan politicians and public officials in business subsidy announcements gets created. The Mackinac Center study follows up on two decades of front-page news stories about government grants to private businesses, revealing that these deals rarely meet their job-creation goals.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, has called on lawmakers to halt funding to the agency until it can be held accountable again.