By Nick Manes & Casey Hull, Michigan Advance

As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ramps up to reveal her first budget next month, Republican and Democratic lawmakers, not surprisingly, are hoping to hear different things. The Advance interviewed legislators following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first State of the State address on Tuesday.

Democrats tended to praise her for highlighting long-term problems in state government like low morale and outdated technology, issues they see as having been ignored during the tenure of Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder.

Republicans, meanwhile, tended to say that her ambitious ideas for fixing infrastructure and improving workforce development lacked concrete details when it comes to cost. GOP lawmakers acknowledged that many of those specifics are expected next month when Whitmer unveils her first budget proposal.

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State Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills), meanwhile, praised Whitmer for her calls to ensure that women are paid equally as men. “I’m a woman in business,” said Bayer, a technology company executive. “I love the idea that we promote and support having equal pay for equal work.”

See the entire article and videos at > https://www.michiganadvance.com/blog/video-lawmakers-on-gov-agenda-of-equal-pay-auto-insurance-reform/