On October 29, CEA President John C. Mozena was invited to testify before the Michigan State House of Representatives’ Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Development and State Investments. It was his third time as an invited witness before the subcommittee, which was created in 2024 to impose legislative oversight on Michigan’s out-of-control economic development subsidy programs.
Mozena was asked by the committee for insights into two economic development topics facing Michigan. The first was media reports that corporations seeking state subsidies were helping finance expensive trips for the governor and other state officials through a charitable foundation. Mozena was able to provide legislators with some research-based insights, including his finding that at least 20 of 29 companies supporting the foundation appear to have received some form of state subsidy in recent years.
The second topic was the collapse of the state’s deal with Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion, which the CEA had been criticizing for three years since it was first announced.
Watch the testimony here:
Click here to read Mozena’s op-ed column from October 2022 referenced in his testimony: https://bridgemi.com/guest-commentary/opinion-michigans-future-no-flying-cars-plenty-corporate-welfare/.