Ahead of the governor’s annual State of the State address, House Republican Leader Matt Hall on Wednesday called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to work with Republicans and focus on solving the major problems facing the state of Michigan.

Hall, R-Richland Township, was joined by Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt at a media roundtable Wednesday previewing the address. At a time when the bipartisan House of Representatives is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, Hall urged Whitmer to collaborate with legislators to craft a bold, coordinated economic growth strategy, a need highlighted by the governor’s population council in December. The Republican leaders also called for action to budget wisely and reverse Democrats’ recent income tax hike, fix the local roads the governor has ignored, and address lagging student performance.

Hall said: “For far too long, Gov. Whitmer has let huge problems in our state fester — without any plans to solve them. Her own population council laid out a serious indictment of her record. She has no economic growth plan. She and Democrat lawmakers haphazardly spent the people’s money without any strategy, raising taxes in the process. The governor has also failed on her most important promise: She has neglected broken local roads and has no funding solution for infrastructure repairs. And while the state spends record amounts on schools without a plan to improve student performance, Michigan kids are still struggling to read. The governor must team up with the people’s representatives in the Legislature, focus on the big picture, and come up with a strategy to put Michigan back on the right track.”

A document outlining the issues Republicans hope the governor will address is below.