For Immediate Release Contact: Matt Marsden 248-802-8718, or

Feb. 3, 2010 Kendall Wingrove 517-927-6062

Remarks by Sen. Mike Bishop in response to the State of the State Address
Below is the transcript of the Senate Republican response to Gov. Granholm's final State of the State address.

Good evening.

My name is Mike Bishop and as the Michigan Senate majority leader, it is my great honor to offer the
response to the governor's State of the State address.

When evaluating the state of our state in 2010, all of us are rightfully filled with concern. Today, our
resiliency is being severely tested. We face enormous challenges that threaten our jobs, our homes, and our
families.

Yet, if we meet these challenges head on, I am convinced, I am more confident than ever Michigan's best days
are still ahead.

Senate Republicans have a vision and a plan. This is the time to be strong, bold and courageous. That's exactly
the attitude of the residents of Michigan as they make tough decisions every day when handling their family
budgets or managing their businesses.

Our residents have stepped up. They continue to sacrifice. Now they rightfully expect government to do the
very same. After all, the state budget is not the government's money, it's the people's money.

Senate Republicans are listening to the residents of Michigan. And like the citizens of Massachusetts, New
Jersey and other states, we hear your message loud and clear -- government spending is out of control and
enough is enough.

It's not rocket science, folks -- government simply spends more than it has, period. And the tired, predictable
policies of the past don't resonate in this new century. The people seek essential services, but they also are
rightfully demanding a more responsive, more efficient state government.

The public instinct for change is rooted in fact. Michigan's government is based upon income that no longer
exists. Adjusted for inflation, revenue for Michigan's general fund has fallen 43 percent since 2000.

Michigan now faces an astronomical $1.8 billion budget deficit.

We simply CANNOT afford the government we have.

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That's why Senate Republicans have declared 2010 “The Year of the Reform."

We want to responsibly balance our state budget and, in doing so, create a dynamic business environment to
retain the jobs we have and aggressively attract new jobs.

But real reform WILL NOT happen as long as government keeps digging into the pocketbooks of job
providers and taxpayers to bankroll reckless spending. And it will not happen as long as lobbyists and special
interests have louder voices than the citizens we represent.

Leadership matters.

Senate Republicans are leading the way to make changes and help create jobs, while preserving the core
functions of government.

Last year, we rejected more than a billion dollars in proposed tax increases. And we also passed reforms that
eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary, job-killing government regulation.

Our focus has been on improving the quality of life for Michigan residents. We do this by maintaining public
safety, strengthening education, protecting the environment and helping job providers remain more
competitive.

Now comes the next step.

The Senate Republicans recently unveiled 10 reforms to restructure and downsize state government. If these
changes were enacted, Michigan taxpayers could save more than $2 billion.

The plan attacks the budget problem directly. We begin by calling for shared sacrifice by public servants all
around the state.

* We also reduce the number of state departments by a third.

* We cut school administrative costs and put more resources into classrooms where they belong.

* We offer a legislative package that is full of measures to help state government, local government and
schools improve efficiency and reduce expenses.

It won't be easy to enact these reforms, but new realities require innovation, courage and bold leadership.

Michigan residents have done it before. Time and time again, we've made the transition when the world
changed. We've gone from the days of fur trading to the era when lumber was king. For a century we've been
the manufacturing center and the Motor Capital of the world.

The people of Michigan know how to navigate through rough times and emerge triumphant. We helped the
Union win the Civil War, we survived the Great Depression and we built the arsenal of democracy during
World War II.

We've never shied away from challenge; we've always led the way when necessity required transition. We
improvise, we adapt and we turn adversity into opportunity. It's what we do.

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With bold leadership and wise investment, Michigan can and will stand tall again. We can make our state
competitive and help our people find good, high-paying jobs.

But we must act. It's time for a fresh, realistic course. Republicans have a strategy and stand ready, willing
and able to enact it.

Ronald Reagan once said, "all great change in America begins at the dinner table."

Those words ring more true today than ever. The hard-working residents in Michigan, gathered at dinner
tables all around this Great Lakes State, have plenty of common-sense ideas, and it's about time we listen to
them.

So let's make 2010 the Year of the Reform. Demand it. It's YOUR state and we represent you.

I look forward to working with you along the way. If we make these important changes, Michigan will be one
more step down the path toward economic recovery.

May God bless you, your family, and may God bless the great state of Michigan.

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