Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to outline remaining 2023 priorities in Democrat-controlled state
Whitmer's "What's Next Address" laid out a second-half agenda of paid leave, clean energy and abortion-rights measures as Democrats hold full control of Lansing for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used a "What's Next Address" — a new format distinct from the traditional State of the State — to outline her priorities for the remainder of 2023, according to WLNS and WXYZ. The address came as Michigan Democrats hold the state House, state Senate and governorship simultaneously for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Whitmer's outlined priorities included paid family and medical leave, a 100% clean energy standard, and codifying protections associated with the Affordable Care Act into state law, per the retrieved coverage. She also called for further protections of reproductive rights, including rolling back the state's 24-hour waiting period for abortion patients, and sought expanded tools for the Michigan Public Service Commission to regulate utilities.
The address followed a first eight months of 2023 in which Democrats, per WLNS's reporting, passed an 11-bill gun-safety package and repealed the state's right-to-work law, alongside an approximately $82 billion budget passed largely along party lines.
Why a trifecta changes the math
With unified control of both legislative chambers and the governorship, Michigan Democrats have been able to move bills that stalled for years under divided government, including the gun-safety package and the right-to-work repeal. The retrieved reporting notes lawmakers maintain a full-time legislative session, positioning Democrats to try to advance additional items before political control of the House becomes more competitive in the next election cycle.
The pushback
Republican criticism, per WLNS, centered on a perceived lack of bipartisanship in the session and on the timing of the address, which came after tornado damage in the state. The retrieved coverage does not include a direct quotation from Whitmer herself describing the address's content.
What was not yet settled
The source reporting frames these as stated priorities heading into the fall legislative session rather than passed legislation; it does not indicate which, if any, of the specific proposals — paid leave, the clean-energy standard, or the abortion waiting-period rollback — had cleared either chamber by the time of the address.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by WLNS and WXYZ. It restores a story originally published on this site in August 2023; figures are as reported at the time.