Having outlined his agenda for education in April and his ideas on health care two weeks ago, Gov. Rick Snyder will turn his attention to the state’s infrastructure needs this month.

All are important issues, and no one can accuse the governor of not having an ambitious enough agenda for his first year in office. Already, he and the Legislature have changed the culture in Lansing from dysfunction and delay to decisive action, unpopular though some of those actions have been.

That single-minded focus brought about a balanced budget in record time and tax reform earlier this year. Yet, there is much still to be done -- if anything, too much.

While Snyder continues to roll out an issue a month, an increasingly rambunctious Republican majority in the Legislature is beginning to push a social and political agenda that conflicts in ways with the governor’s, creating the potential for a less productive fall, which is something Michigan can’t afford.

When everything is a priority, there are no priorities. We think it is essential for the governor and lawmakers to identify and address three or four issues that have the greatest urgency. When we look at obvious, fundamental problems and needs in Michigan that have gone unaddressed - in many cases for years - we see these challenges as vital for actions now:

Infrastructure -- The governor’s timing couldn’t be better than choosing now to talk about how to fix the state’s crumbling streets and bridges. A bipartisan committee has just concluded that the state needs to spend an additional $1.4 billion a year to maintain its roads and bridges. Anyone who drives in Michigan gets a daily reminder of the condition of our roads. To residents and visitors alike, it is one of the most visual reminders of Michigan’s state of neglect and decline. Investing in our infrastructure would not only create jobs in the short-term, but improve the transportation system that can help lead to economic recovery. We look forward to hearing the governor’s proposals, and hope that bipartisanship will lead to faster action.

Local government and school consolidation -- The governor’s early efforts to encourage greater consolidation of services at the local level have been a good first step, but we still think much stronger state action is called for. While the state has gotten its budget in order, many municipalities and school districts remain financially unstable, the consequences of which could be severe. There are huge potential savings to be realized through consolidation., and local units of government and school systems should be embracing these opportunities far more than they are. The governor gave local governments a deadline of Oct. 1 to submit plans for how they have or could save money by consolidating services. If this exercise doesn’t show them making good progress, the state should prod for more.

Corrections reform - If there is an area of the state budget that is ripe for radical reform right now, it is the corrections system. During the last election cycle, it was on the lips of every candidate we talked to. Yet we heard little about it from Lansing until last week, when Snyder proposed closing a prison in Detroit and privatizing prison health care and mental health services. Michigan is spending an amount on incarceration that it can neither afford nor justify. We are one of only four states that spend more on prisons than on education. We jail more people and incarcerate them far longer than other Midwest states, and there are less expensive ways of dealing with non-violent criminals. A group calling itself the Corrections Reform Coalition has issued a set of recommendations that it says could save the state $500 million a year. The need for reform in this area couldn’t be more obvious or urgent.

Proposed new international bridge - If there’s one thing the Legislature could do right now to create jobs and improve Michigan’s opportunities for future economic growth, it would be to approve the plan for a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor. These case for this project is clear-cut, which is why it’s been endorsed by a broad range of business and labor groups, as well as four past Michigan governors, two Republicans and two Democrats. We’ve editorialized in favor of this project, and like many observers, are increasingly frustrated to see no action. We’re convinced the only real barrier to approval is a campaign of misinformation and influence-peddling working against the project. Enough diddling on this one. Gov. Snyder wants the Legislature to approve the plan this fall, and lawmakers should heed his call.

We understand the value in some of the governor’s other initiatives, such as health care or education. But we don’t see ideas like statewide schools of choice to be transformative in the way that the issues above would be. Nor do we see personal property tax reform as a particularly high priority for the short term. Meanwhile, we’re outright unenthused by some of the priorities that House Republicans are beginning to rumble about -- particularly some of the social issues, and specifically the unneeded effort to further regulate universities involved in embryonic stem cell research.

Unlike the Legislatures of recent past, and unlike our current Congress, Michigan lawmakers seem to have understood that voters elected them to do a job. They’ve actually gotten some things done. This is no time to get lost in a quagmire of competing interests and hazy priorities. They need to pick a few issues that really matter, and act boldly to continue to reshape Michigan for the future.