Reviving Michigan's economy is the most important priority for the next Governor. The Governor's Cabinet will focus on job-creation. Those Department directors with direct oversight of any aspect of economic growth will be tasked with coordinating their efforts and the effort of their staff to focus on job creation.

Mike Cox will create a jobs cabinet to ensure that each department charged with regulatory oversight considers the impact of their work on economic development. This jobs cabinet will task Departments with coordinating their efforts to foster economic growth. It will highlight the importance of job creation by focusing energy and coordination of key regulatory agency department heads. Tennessee requires all department directors to have a coordinated focus on economic development and a Michigan jobs cabinet will emulate Tennessee's efforts.

As Governor, Mike Cox will appoint an individual with cabinet level status (perhaps the Lieutenant Governor) who serves as an intermediary for individuals and businesses that are having difficulty with permit approvals or getting timely responses from state bureaucrats. The Office of Regulatory Ombudsman will facilitate a resolution of issues that job providers encounter to ensure that due diligence is performed in as quick a manner as possible.

Too often, regulatory staffers view their issue area without considering the overall impact of regulation. As Governor, Mike Cox will assign regulatory staff (whether it is Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth, etc.) and economic development staff into teams that work together on a daily basis. This process will help each side understand the importance of what the other does and the ultimate goal of bringing jobs to Michigan. These Permit Review teams will act to push regulatory staff out of their cubicles to invest their efforts not only in regulation, but in job creation.

Subject to limitations of federal or state law, Mike Cox will create a default permit process. This default permit process will require the agency to adopt a short, reasonable permit time frame for decisions, depending on the type of permit sought. If the permit is not issued or finished within the time set, then the burden is on the agency to prove the applicant - whether an individual or business - is not suitable. Michigan cannot afford to lose projects because of an over-burdensome regulatory process that is unreasonably drawn out. A default process will provide more fairness, certainty, and timeliness for anyone seeking a state permit without compromising essential oversight roles of the Department and state law.

Michigan needs to create shovel-ready, pre-certified development sites for job creators seeking to locate in Michigan. Abandoned facilities can become a center of crime. If a company can be assured that they can move into a suitable facility rather than facing regulatory delays, the likelihood of investment and job creation greatly increases. States such as Florida, New York and Indiana have programs that coordinate regulatory agencies, economic developers and local units to identify large sites and get generic permits ready for prospective companies.

This development tool creates the potential to develop new sites as well as redevelop older, abandoned larger-scale industrial facilities. Particularly in urban areas, abandoned facilities can become turnkey sites for new economic projects. This program will not only create jobs, but improve community redevelopment.

As Governor, Mike Cox will require an economic impact assessment anytime state agencies engage in making new regulatory rules. This impact study, or assessment, will require detailed cost-benefit analyses to ensure that the rules do not adversely impact job creation and the Michigan economy. Further, Mike Cox will require a review of all rules to weed out the ones that exceed federal requirements but are not based on science and adversely impact job creation. A recent example of a proposed rule that threatens job creation but is not supported by science, is the Governor's attempt to establish ergonomic rules. Michigan job creation does not need to be hampered by unnecessary or over-burdensome regulation.