On Wednesday, January 18, I had the privilege of attending Governor Rick Snyder’s second State of the State address. The tone was certainly different than one year ago; there was a feeling of renewed hope and achievement as the governor summarized the successes of the past year and provided some broad strokes of what to expect moving forward.

The results of 2011 are in, and the news is good. We worked with the governor on many key reforms last year, and our economy has turned a corner. We put economic recovery first and prioritized job creation. I made promises when I was elected, and I am proud that I have kept true to those commitments. But we all know there is still much more work to be done.

The headlines have changed from daunting budget deficits and record unemployment to a budget surplus and 80,000 new private sector jobs. Our unemployment rate has dropped from 11.1% to 9.3% since December 2010, and we expect it to continue moving in the right direction.

The governor touched on many other issues in his address, ranging from education to healthcare to our state’s infrastructure. He also encouraged the legislature to continue working on unfinished projects from this past year.

He spoke of his commitment to educating our children. I share that commitment, and I hope that we can look at our budget surplus as an opportunity to continue helping them succeed in the classroom.

He continued to advocate for a Michigan health exchange. I have committed to holding off on this legislation until we receive a legal decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, or until our hand is forced by threat of a federal takeover of the program.

He pledged his commitment to reducing government bureaucracy and eliminating unnecessary and burdensome regulatory red tape, specifically mentioning the Department of Environment Quality. This is a great opportunity to continue instituting a customer service mentality in our state government.

Closer to home, I was pleased to hear the governor announce that he will be attending the I-500 in Sault Sainte Marie, to be held February 4 and 5. It will be a true pleasure to have him as our guest in the Upper Peninsula.

The theme of the night was positive action. We will not revert back to the old ways of short-term budget fixes and patchwork accounting. Moving forward, we will continue to create an environment for jobs in this state and develop a foundation for long-term success. We will continue to look out for the taxpayer, the job seeker, and the job creator.

I believe that Michigan can once again be a top 10 state and economic engine in our nation, and I am committed to working toward that reality. I am proud to be your state representative, and I look forward to another year of getting Michigan back to work.

Representative Frank Foster (R- 107) is the freshman representative for Emmet, Mackinac, Chippewa, and portions of Cheboygan County.