Keeping Competitive at Home: Michigan Speaker Matt Hall at the ALEC Annual Meeting

When Republicans regained control of the Michigan House, it marked the end of what Speaker Matt Hall calls “a deviation from core ALEC principles.”

“Democrats controlled everything… the first state in the country last year to raise the income tax,” Hall told me at ALEC’s 52nd Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. “They increased government spending – it’s been up 43 percent under Governor Whitmer.”

Now, with a Republican House, a Democrat governor, and a Democrat Senate, Hall is focused on restoring balance and keeping Michigan’s economy moving. Early wins included revising the state’s paid sick leave law in a way that protects both workers and employers, and preserving the restaurant tip credit — a move that saved thousands of hospitality jobs and prevented a 240 percent overnight wage hike that could have shuttered local restaurants. These efforts are helping businesses stay open, keep people employed, and energize communities across the state.

“Those were two big wins for free market principles and limited government early in our term,” Hall said.

But divided government has also slowed the pace.

“We’ve passed six bills into law this year,” Hall noted – the lowest total since 1940, when the legislature didn’t meet. His priority now is fixing Michigan’s roads without raising taxes.

“We can invest some of that money into roads,” he explained, “by ending big corporate giveaways and dedicating all of the money collected at the pump to roads.”

Hall rejects Governor Whitmer’s push to raise the corporate income tax to fund infrastructure. Instead, he argues for creating a competitive regulatory and tax climate that attracts businesses on its own, without relying on costly incentive packages.

Last year, Hall ventured outside the Wolverine State to join a delegation of state leaders from across the country on an ALEC-organized trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, hosted by Texas Senator Phil King. What he saw left a lasting impression.

“It was the height of the Biden border crisis,” Hall recalled. “We were right there, watching people pour across the border. There was nowhere to house them, so the Biden administration would release them right away into the country.”

He returned to Michigan urging Governor Whitmer to join other states in sending resources to help. That plea went unheeded.

“It was too bad,” Hall said, “because states like Texas and Florida were stepping up to fill the void left by the federal government.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Hall wants to shift Michigan’s economic strategy away from massive incentive packages. Just a short time ago, he said, Michigan offered $6 billion to a semiconductor company – the largest incentive offer in state history – and was turned down.

“That’s the cost of our regulatory policies and tax policies,” Hall said. “If we take care of our existing businesses… we can grow our economy that way, and other people will want to be in a state that’s trying to help them solve their problems.”

For Speaker Hall, his priorities are rooted in the belief that economic growth and public safety go hand in hand. By focusing on a business climate that rewards investment, infrastructure spending that delivers results, and policies that respect the rule of law, he believes Michigan can compete with the strongest states in the nation while protecting the communities that call it home.