Category Archives: Water, Environment

Recycling Grants for Communities Available from EGLE and The Recycling Partnership

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The national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) want members of the Michigan Municipal League to know about an exciting grant opportunity totaling $575,000 that exists for communities statewide in 2021 to dramatically improve residential recycling.

EGLE and The Partnership are encouraging elected officials and local government leaders to apply for these grants that can help Michiganders improve the quality of materials they recycle at curbside or drop-off locations, as well as reduce recycling contamination.

All Michigan community recycling programs are eligible to apply for these grants from EGLE and The Partnership of up to $4 per household for curbside programs and up to $3 per household for drop-off programs.

Applications are due Aug. 20, 2021, and complete instructions can be found in the request for proposals at recyclingpartnership.org/michiganrfp.

In addition to continuing to build on the success of Michigan’s award-winning Know It Before You Throw It recycling education campaign, grantees with curbside recycling service will utilize The Partnership’s nationally acclaimed Feet on the Street cart-tagging program – an initiative designed to improve the quality of curbside recycling by providing residents personalized and real-time education and feedback on their recycling practices.

Grantees with drop-off recycling services will use a modified version of the Feet on the Street program to combat recycling contamination and illegal dumping at recycling drop-off sites while also improving awareness and participation in the local recycling program.

Highlights for successful grantees include:

  • Selected drop-off recycling program grantees will benefit from inclusive signage and site improvements, security upgrades such as cameras, increased recycling participation, and other opportunities to educate households on what is and isn’t recyclable.
  • Selected curbside grantees will benefit from the use of The Partnership’s new mobile app.
  • All grantees will have access to EGLE and The Partnership’s expertise to help create and distribute effective recycling education materials such as direct mail and targeted digital and social media campaigns.

The 2021 grant opportunity will build on recent successes at combating recycling contamination in more than 100 Michigan communities that were previously awarded similar grants. The City of Grand Rapids, for example, was recently announced as the winner of the 2021 Program of the Year Award from industry leader Resource Recycling. Grand Rapids’ submission materials to the awards program reported a contamination rate of 7.4%, which is far lower than what’s being seen in many local programs in the U.S., where contamination rates above 20% are common. (The metric describes the percentage of material put in recycling carts by residents that do not belong in the recycling cart).

Based on our combined track record of achievement with local partners, EGLE and The Partnership are looking to develop new partners in the Upper Peninsula, West Michigan, and Mid-Michigan. To learn more, visit recyclingpartnership.org/michiganrfp.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

Legislature Breaks Without Finishing GF Budget

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The Legislature recessed for at least two weeks earlier this week without finalizing a General Fund budget and without allocating any of their remaining GF fund balance or available American Rescue Plan Act funds.  A school aid budget was completed and sent to the Governor in HB 4411, but the House’s attempt at a baseline/continuation budget in HB 4410 and the Senate’s response that simply funded revenue sharing and a couple of DHHS line items remained unresolved by the time each chamber had adjourned.

While revenue sharing was not completed before they recessed, both chambers provided a 2% statutory revenue sharing increase ($5.2 million) in their different versions.  The Senate proposal also included a League-requested $433,000 to restore the August 2020 revenue sharing cut for dozens of League members that were unable to utilize the federal CARES funding that was offered as a replacement for that cut.  The Senate proposal and a different House proposal in SB 27 also offered a $10 million appropriation to provide relief to communities impacted by the severe storms that occurred in June.

While not completed this week, these items are all expected to resurface in a full budget negotiation that is expected to proceed between the Administration and legislative leaders in the coming weeks.  Those negotiations will likely determine when the House and Senate return to action to vote on a budget deal.  At this time, the House and Senate are scheduled to return for session days on; July 14 in the House, July 15 in the House and Senate, July 21 in the House, and July 27 in the Senate. While these days are currently scheduled, the success of ongoing budget negotiations will likely determine which, if any, of these days are utilized.

The League continues to advocate for improvements in revenue sharing funding, support for municipal infrastructure repairs necessitated by shoreline erosion, substantial state investments in water and sewer infrastructure similar to the Governor’s MI Clean Water Plan and the Senate proposal in SB 565, and state funding for replacement of local bridges as proposed in different versions by the Governor and legislative leaders, among a host of other spending priorities.

In addition to their work on the various Departmental budgets, the Governor and Legislature are also debating priorities for allocating the state’s first ARP allocation of $3.25 billion.  The League and our partners are pressing for leaders to agree on a comprehensive spending plan for these dollars that will provide local governments with additional opportunities to invest in their communities and leverage the dollars that they have available for greater impact on infrastructure, building local capacity, improving housing and community development, and promoting local economic development efforts.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

 

Legislature Preps Competing Versions of State Budget

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Since their return from Spring Break last month, the House and Senate budget subcommittees have been working to finalize their respective versions of the state budget for every state department and program for the upcoming FY21-22 state fiscal year.  Those budget subcommittees recently released their proposed spending plans and they are now being considered by the full Appropriations committees in each chamber before they will cross to the opposing chamber for further consideration and conference committee discussions, which are expected following the state’s May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference scheduled for Friday, May 21st.  These House and Senate proposals are being developed in response to the Governor’s Executive Budget recommendation released earlier this year.

The League has been extremely active on a number of key state budget components, especially revenue sharing and transportation funding, among other municipal priorities.  None of the proposed budget versions described below have been negotiated with the other chamber or with the Whitmer Administration and a final budget agreement, expected prior to the summer recess, will look extremely different as all three sides negotiate for their priorities.

In the House:

The General Government budget for FY 21-22 funds a number of state departments, including revenue sharing and the Treasury department and the Labor & Economic Opportunity department (MEDC) spending. This spending proposal is being developed within House Bill 4398.

  • The House proposal provides a 1% increase ($2.6M) to statutory revenue sharing as opposed to the Governor’s recommendation for a 2% increase ($5.2M).
  • The House language would also require any increased CVTRS revenue sharing a community received that is “underfunded” on their pension system to spend any increase from revenue sharing on their pension system.
  • Additionally, the House has added new language that would require all cities, villages, townships, and counties to maintain the same level of public safety funding as their prior budget had expended as a condition for receiving statutory revenue sharing.
  • Following a League request, the bill does include $290,000 to restore August revenue sharing payment losses for any community that was unable to utilize the CARES funding they received as a replacement for the stricken August CVTRS payment last year.  Also included is a $245,000 line item that we had requested to provide for a restoration of any forfeited revenue sharing payments due to a community missing the December 1, 2020 “dashboard” reporting and certification requirement, so long as the certification was submitted by February 1, 2021.
  • The Governor’s recommendation of $40M for shoreline erosion grants for the coming budget year were referenced in this bill with a $100 placeholder amount.  As an alternative approach, the House did propose funding that $40M in recommended spending for shoreline erosion in their current year budget supplemental proposal (HB 4420) which is outlined later in this article.
  • The House version did not include the Governor’s recommended $5M recommendation for grants to local units for recruiting and training first responders.
  • This bill does also not include the Governor’s recommendation for $10M to be deposited into MSHDA’s Housing and Community Development Fund and reduces the Business Attraction and Community Revitalization line items by $5.9M.
  • The House version does insert an additional $500,000 into the Rural Jobs and Capital Investment Fund for a total line item of $1.5M.

The House proposal for the Michigan Department of Transportation budget is outlined in House Bill 4409.  While the overall revenue available to the State Trunkline Fund is expected to stay relatively flat for the coming year, balancing lower gas tax and vehicle registration fee revenue against the full $600M earmark from the state income tax and expected higher federal aid opportunities, the following items are important for local road agencies:

  • Local road agencies are estimated to receive an additional $52.8M through their PA 51 distribution.
  • The House version agrees with the Governor’s recommendation to restore $12.8M to the Transportation Economic Development Fund and a $3M restoration to transit agencies through the Comprehensive Transportation Fund.
  • The House adds a $226M line item aimed at local road and bridge repair and replacement, and a new program funded with $374M designed to repay existing transportation bond debt.

The House Environment, Great Lakes, & Energy Department budget proposal for next year (HB 4397) did include the Governor’s recommendation of $15M for responding to dam safety emergency issues, but the House did not fund the $20M one-time recommendation for contaminated site clean-ups or the Governor’s $290M MI Clean Water Plan proposal.  The House also included a one-time allocation of $25M for PFAS clean-up and other emerging contaminates.

In the Senate:

Their General Government budget proposal is included in Senate Bill 82 –

  • The Senate proposal agreed with the Governor’s recommendation on statutory revenue sharing by funding a 2% ($5.2M) CVTRS increase.  Additionally, the Senate builds this 2% directly into the CVTRS base, where the Governor’s recommendation had this 2% increase listed as one-time.
  • The Senate maintained the current requirement that any CVTRS increase amount must be dedicated to an unfunded pension liability for any community identified as “underfunded” under PA 202.
  • Based upon the League request, the bill also includes $433,000 to restore August revenue sharing payment losses for the more than 100 cities, villages, townships, and counties that were unable to utilize the CARES funding they received as a replacement for the stricken August CVTRS payment last year.
  • The Senate did not include the Governor’s $5M recommendation for local first responder recruitment and training grants, but they did include a $50M 100% matching grant program for any community with a pension system funded at less than 40% that makes an accelerated payment towards that unfunded liability.

In the Senate LEO budget for the coming year (SB 85) the Governor’s recommendation for $10M in MSHDA’s Housing and Community Development Fund was not included.  The subcommittee did recommend an additional $15M for Pure Michigan and increased Arts and Cultural grants by $1.5M above the Governor’s recommendation.

In their EGLE budget proposal (SB 91), the Senate subcommittee included $15M for dam safety and put $10M towards high water and shoreline erosion grants, but declined to fund the $290M MI Clean Water Plan or the $20M recommendation for contaminated site clean-up.

The subcommittee recommendation for the MDOT budget is detailed in SB 92. The Senate included the Governor’s recommendation for increasing local road fund through the MTF by $52.8M and supported the restoration of last year’s cuts to the TEDF ($12.8M) and transit agencies within the CTF ($3M).

 

In addition to the work on the budget for the upcoming state fiscal year, each chamber is discussing competing proposals to spend portions of the December federal stimulus funding and the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act stimulus.  These supplemental budget appropriations would apply to spending in the current state fiscal year and represent very different approaches from the two chambers.  The Administration has issued their recommendations for the spending of the December federal stimulus, but await forthcoming US Treasury guidance before making detailed ARPA spending recommendations.

The House has two General Fund related supplemental budget bills on the House floor awaiting further action.  House Bills 4419 and 4420 propose approximately $6 billion in new, non-education spending for the current budget year.  Highlights from the two House bills that would impact local governments include:

  • HB 4419 would pass through the anticipated $686M in ARPA funds that are designated for the “non-entitlement” local units of government.  Pending the disbursement of those funds from the federal government to Michigan.
  • The bill also includes $103M in federal LIHEAP funding, $378M from the December stimulus proposal for rental and utility assistance and housing stability services, $68M for airports, $65M of federal funds for local road agencies, and $76M for rural transit agencies.
  • HB 4420 moves federal dollars into a number of state GF/GP line items to free up those GF/GP dollars.  The bill then appropriates those state GF dollars into a host of different programs and lines.
  • This bill puts $350M into the state’s rainy day fund.  It directs $40M into high water and shoreline erosion grants and $25M for PFAS remediation and $25M for contaminated site cleanup grants.
  • The bill fully funds the state’s Flint water settlement, appropriating $595M versus the annual $35M bond debt service that is currently planned.  Along the same lines, the bill invests $74M into State Trunkline Fund bond repayment and another $626M into a new Transportation Bond Repayment Sinking Fund.
  • Additionally for infrastructure, this bill would spend $250M for natural gas infrastructure expansion, $150M for broadband expansion, $250M for water and sewer replacement grants, and $300M for local road and bridge replacement and repair.

The Senate’s supplemental budget bill for the current year (SB 36) focuses mainly on appropriating the remaining December federal stimulus funds.  The only ARPA dollars in this bill are related to anticipated day care funding the state expects to receive from the March federal bill.  This bill is also on the Senate floor awaiting further action.

  • SB 36 appropriates the $378M federal emergency rental and utility assistance dollars allocated to Michigan.  $46M of additional FEMA disaster assistance.
  • Of the transportation funds the December stimulus allocated to Michigan, the Senate proposes a statute change that would allow all of the dollars coming into Michigan to be distributed solely to cities, villages and counties.  Under this proposal, cities and villages would receive $93.5M and counties would get $167.8M.  State trunklines would not receive any of these stimulus dollars.

 

With additional federal guidance on ARPA expected in the next week and the state’s May revenue estimating conference scheduled for later this month, most of the upcoming budget activity will likely focus on positioning the budget and supplemental bills for final negotiations between legislative leadership and the governor.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

League President and Westland Mayor Bill Wild Meets with U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm About American Jobs Plan

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Westland Mayor Bill Wild, MML President, and Grand Rapids Mayor Bliss, former MML President, met with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Friday about the American Jobs Plan.

Westland Mayor and Michigan Municipal League Board President Bill Wild met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm Friday about the American Jobs Plan.

The meeting was organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayor Wild, along with Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, former League Board President, gave a presentation to the Energy Secretary. There is language within the $2.3 trillion Jobs Plan to support clean energy bock grants for state, local and tribal governments. The mayors were in support of this provision, Wild said.

“We are pushing to reauthorize the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from 2009 and not try to create a new block Grant. The data is already available and the results are proven that it met the goals of the program and created/saved jobs,” Mayor Wild said.

President Biden recently announced the American Jobs Plan to rebuild the economy and create good-paying jobs for workers in America’s cities, towns and villages through investments in infrastructure and workforce development.

The League has advocated for additional investment in infrastructure in the traditional sense (roads, bridges, water, and sewer), but also in a more broad-based community infrastructure view (broadband, housing, parks and workforce development). This plan addresses many of those areas. Read more about the Jobs Plan in this Inside 208 post by the League’s John LaMacchia.

Governor’s Budget Recommendation Includes Key Items For Cities

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Governor Whitmer released her budget recommendation for the upcoming Fiscal Year 21-22 budget cycle this morning and a number of items that the League has actively been advocating for were included in this morning’s announcement.  A full detail of the Executive Budget for FY2022 is available here.

Following last month’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference that revealed a rosier than expected state revenue picture, the state finds itself in a position where it has additional, one-time revenues from the prior budget year available to expend.  These revenues, coupled with other federal revenues that were made available at the end of 2020 provided the Administration with an ability to make a number of one-time investments across the state budget, including a $175 million partial restoration of the $350 million Budget Stabilization (Rainy Day) Fund withdrawal that was part of last year’s budget balancing efforts/

As part of today’s announcement, the following items are of primary interest to League members and will be actively supported by Municipal League staff:

  • City Income Tax Relief – $70 million of one-time General Fund dollars are recommended to provide relief to the 24 city income tax communities facing immediate revenue losses due to the pandemic.  These dollars are recommended to be spread proportionally to the 24 cities based upon their income tax revenues from 2019, with no city eligible for more than $25 million.
  • Revenue Sharing – the budget recommends a 2% increase in statutory revenue sharing, resulting in an additional $5.2 million for cities, villages, and townships.  This statutory increase is coupled with an estimated increase of 1.8% ($15.4 million) in per capita Constitutional revenue sharing payments.
    • Additionally, today’s proposal recommends creation of a new grant program in Treasury that would provide $5 million for first responder recruitment and training grants to local units of government.
  • Infrastructure – the Governor is recommending a series of investments in infrastructure spending:
    • $300 million of one-time funding targeted at approximately 120 local bridges in need of rehabilitation or replacement, including 59 that are currently closed to traffic. Construction on these bridges would be expected to begin in spring of 2022.
    • $290 million recommended for investment in wastewater protection infrastructure grants using remaining state bonding authority that focuses $235 million of that amount on sanitary sewer overflow prevention, $20 million towards removing direct and continuous raw sewage discharges, and $35 million to eliminate failing septic systems.
    • $40 million of one-time General Fund dollars are proposed for High Water Infrastructure Grants, with $30 million of that amount directed at specific infrastructure projects and $10 million designated for local government planning activities.  The infrastructure grants will provide funding for projects to address issues including flooding, coastal/shoreline erosion, storm water management, and others.
    • $15 million for the dam safety emergency fund.

Additional details, briefing, and presentation materials can be found here.

With today’s budget presentation, Appropriations subcommittees in both the House and the Senate will begin their review of the Governor’s recommendations.  Initial deliberation on the budget is expected to continue through the legislative spring break at the end of March, until concluding prior to the summer recess.  League members are encouraged to contact members of both Appropriations committees to urge their support for these measures.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Governor Whitmer Delivers State of the State Message, Calls for Expanding Local Road Funding Options

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Governor Whitmer delivered her third State of the State this evening with a focus of bi-partisanship and a theme she coined as “Fixing the Damn Road Ahead”.

The speech was delivered remotely for the first time in Michigan history and was markedly shorter than past speeches as a result.

The Governor reminded viewers of the bipartisan successes of the past year through agreements reached on the pandemic-impacted budget, the MI Reconnect plan for job training support and grants, and the Clean Slate package with delivered criminal justice reforms. She called for similar bipartisan action in the coming year.

Much of the speech focused on the Administration’s efforts to fight the pandemic, but on the policy front, the Governor identified proposals to improve K-12 education funding, expanded unemployment benefits, a new program to provide teacher support grants, and a call to renew the expired Good Jobs For Michigan economic development incentive that was first utilized by Pfizer at their Michigan facility that is now providing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivers her 2021 State of the State Address on Jan. 27.

Of interest to League members, the Governor went back to the road funding issue by calling for the Legislature to work with her to expand local road funding options.  It is expected that this will be a more collaborative recommendation, with no specific end result in mind, but pointing to bills introduced last term that would have provided for the option of a local vehicle registration fee and allowed for a local gas tax to be implemented.

She also called again for passage of her water infrastructure proposal she announced in the fall.  The MI Clean Water plan would reallocate $500M in existing federal revenues and state bond funds to support local clean water and contaminate clean-up investments.

In response to the speech, the Municipal League released this statement. League CEO and Executive Director Dan Gilmartin also wrote this opinion piece for Crain’s Detroit Business Forum series about how our Legislature and Governor can help communities emerge from the pandemic in 2021.

More details on these initiatives and other spending priorities are expected in two weeks when the Governor unveils her next budget recommendation.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

That’s A Wrap – 100th Legislative Session Finalized

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With the expiration of 14-days on the Governor’s desk this past week, the last bills presented from December’s lame duck legislative action brought the 100th Legislative Session to an official close.

All told, nearly 300 new bills were introduced between the House and the Senate during the lame duck period, following the November election.  A total of 402 bills became new Public Acts (PAs) in 2020, with 158 of those PAs being finalized during lame duck, mainly during the month of December.  In addition to the volume of new laws, the Governor leaned heavily on her veto pen during the final days of the 100th Legislative Session.  All told, 36 bills were either directly vetoed or expired without signature, resulting in a pocket veto. The legislative action of 2020 stands in stark contrast to the activity of 2019, where only 178 new PAs were signed and no bills were vetoed. 

The following updates summarize many of the main issues that League staff were engaged with during this lame duck period and those issues that we expect to see returning during the 2021-2022 legislative term.

Signed By The Governor:

  • COVID Extension to Boards of Review: HB 5824 and 5825 (PAs 251 & 297 of 2020) – The League supported these two bills which codify the Governor’s now nullified Executive Order that had extended the March 2020 Boards of Review and allowed certain additional appeals and valuation changes during the July 2020 Boards of Review.
  • Poverty exemption: SB 1234 (PA 253 of 2020) – This bill amends the current residential property tax poverty exemption to assist with various COVID-related impacts that low-income residents are facing as they attempt to apply for the exemption. Upon determination of the local unit of government, existing poverty exemption applications may remain in effect for up to three years to counteract personal and public facility limitations due to COVID-19.  A similar, 3-year extension is also authorized for local units that choose to offer the extension for eligible residents on fixed income from public assistance. The League and the City of Detroit testified in support of these bills.  Treasury negotiated a number of amendments as a condition of their support prior to passage, including requiring each local unit’s poverty exemption policy and guidelines be posted on their website and bringing uniformity to the allowance of any partial exemptions, less than 100%, unless authorized by the State Tax Commission.
  • Personal Property Tax COVID Location Freeze: SB 1203 (PA 352 of 2020) – Amends the General Property Tax Act to freeze the location of all personal property being used by remote workers as assessable only at the business’s ordinary location for the 2021 tax year.
  • Tax Foreclosure Proceeds: SB 676 & 1137 (PAs 255 & 256 of 2020) – These bills were passed in response to the recent Michigan Supreme Court Rafaeli decision that found that all “excess” proceeds from a tax foreclosure sale must be paid to the former owner of the property. This decision could have a long-term harmful impact on County Delinquent Tax Revolving Funds that will lead to chargebacks being assessed to local taxing jurisdictions. Communities that also leverage their right of first refusal to acquire these foreclosed properties for the minimum bid may also face a more expensive path to acquiring these parcels as the court decision also puts the ability to acquire parcels for the minimum bid at risk. Following months of work group discussions and negotiations with local units, the County Treasurers Association, and the Michigan Department of Treasury, the League secured amendments to retain a process for local units to continue acquiring some parcels for the minimum bid and language providing for an annual  local fiscal impact analysis from Treasury to help evaluate and make recommendations to address any increase in chargebacks to local units.
  • OMA Virtual Meetings: SB 1246 (PA 254 of 2020) – Senate Bill 1246 amends the Open Meetings Act to allow communities to continue meeting virtually due to the pandemic through March 31, 2021. The prior allowance had allowed communities to meet virtually only through the end of 2020, so this extension was a high priority for the League. This new legislation also makes technical changed requested by the League to allow a local state of emergency or state of disaster to be declared pursuant to a local ordinance (in addition to those declared under law or charter in the current law) and adds a local chief administrative officer (in addition to a local official or local governing body) as a person who may declare the local state of emergency. In addition, the bill sets requirements a public body shall follow if a meeting is held in person before April 1, 2021, including adherence to social distancing and mitigation measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and adopting heightened standards of facility cleaning. Read this blog for additional details.
  • Historic Preservation Tax Credit: SB 54 (PA 343 of 2020) – The League has fought for a number of years to restore Michigan’s state-level Historic Preservation Tax Credit program that was repealed under former Governor Snyder. The new program will provide a 25% credit on rehabilitation expenses against state income tax. For homeowners in historic districts, this credit helps offset the costs of repairing older homes while retaining their historic attributes. SB 54 caps the total number of credits per year at $5 million in order to have minimal initial impact on the State budget. The necessary $5 million for funding of the first year of the credit was already appropriated in the current state fiscal year in anticipation of this bill’s passage.
  • COVID critical infrastructure worker: SB 1258 (PA 339 of 2020) – Public Act 238 of 2020,  adopted earlier in 2020, established certain employee protections related to exposure to COVID-19. One aspect of that law required employees to quarantine for 14 days following certain instances of exposure. Specific classes of employees/businesses are exempt from that 14-day quarantine, like health care employees and first responders. Officials from the cities of Oak Park and St. Clair Shores joined the League in advocating for language in SB 1258, which would extend the specific employee/business exemption from the quarantine requirement to include critical infrastructure employees in the energy industry and other critical municipal service categories like water and wastewater operations.  During final negotiations, the bills was amended to allow the Dept of Health & Human Services Director to designate certain categories of employees for critical infrastructure deemed necessary to preserve public health or public safety. The bill also provides additional flexibility for returning to work with negative test results and time periods for isolation and/or quarantine as determined appropriate by the CDC, as opposed to designating a specific number of days in statute. The League and other local units have submitted a letter (view it here) to the Department Director requesting the immediate designation of critical municipal operations pursuant to the language in the new law.
  • Movable Bridge Public-Private Partnerships: SB 1215–1218 (PAs 353-356 of 2020) – The League and Bay City officials testified in support of this package of bills that will help Bay City address the replacement of two city-owned movable bridges. Due to the unique nature of these bridges and the extraordinarily high cost of replacement, this package will provide statutory authority for Bay City to enter into a public-private partnership that will provide for the replacement of both bridges and free up substantial city resources that can be invested in other infrastructure projects.
  • Water Shut-Offs: SB 241 (PA 252 of 2020) – A new version of this bill was adopted to codify the Governor’s previous Executive Order related to water shut-offs. In early July Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 144 that placed a moratorium on water shutoffs until December 31st of this year. Following the nullification of the Governor’s E.O.s by the Michigan Supreme Court, the Administration and the Legislature negotiated the language in SB 241 to codify the intent of that E.O. into statute. This agreement in this bill reinstates the moratorium on water shutoffs and extends the date to March 31, 2021
  • Supplemental Budget Appropriation/CARES Hazard Pay Grant Extension: SB 748 (PA 257 of 2020) – Separate from the political grappling between the Legislature and Governor over state spending for COVID relief and unemployment benefits, language was included at the League’s request to extend the time period for local units to have issued first responder hazard pay premiums under the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund grant program and be eligible for a reimbursement.  The original language had required payroll be issued by 10/31/2020, this change allowed communities to issue their payroll by 12/29/2020 and still be eligible for reimbursement.
  • Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Administrative Change: HB 4159 (PA 259 of 2020) – Provides technical changes and oversight to brownfield redevelopment authorities. Additional amendments were adopted to section 13b to increase the number of active projects that an authority may have at one time and also allow for a corresponding increase in expenditures for administrative and operating costs relative to the number of projects. This change is also consistent with the recently updated MEDC strategic plan and their revised Community Revitalization Program guidelines.
  • Small Cell Road Commission Fix: SB 1256 (PA360 of 2020) – Late in lame duck SB 1256 was introduced and moved without a committee hearing, receiving bi-partisan support in both chambers. This bill added country roads commission to the definition of authority and clarifies the original intention of the legislation. As a result of this change, all entities within the right of way would operate on a level playing field. The League did not support this legislation but did request, and have secured a commitment from the bill sponsor (Sen Dan Lauwers), to provide additional clarification that the rate will be paid exclusively to cities, villages, and townships. A bill addressing this clarification will be introduced early in 2021 and we anticipate it being taken up shortly after committees begin to meet.

Vetoed By The Governor:

  • Solar Projects Tax Exemptions: SB 1105 & 1106 – These bills were vetoed by the Governor as premature, given the State Tax Commission’s ongoing ad hoc review committee and related analysis and recommendations were not considered in the development of the vetoed language. The League opposed these bills and submitted a letter requesting the Governor veto these bills. The two bills would have exempted all utility-grade solar projects from the industrial personal property tax and replaced that lost property tax revenue with a Payment In Lieu of Tax reimbursement of $4000 per megawatt, an arbitrary value that would have amounted to pennies on the dollar for many local units.  Local units would have also been required to approve every tax exemption application it received as long as the project matched the definition of an “qualified renewable energy facility”, regardless of local land use or economic development plans or support.  As stated in the League’s veto request letter, which you can read here, we support additional investment in alternative energy systems in Michigan, but any PILT proposal must be developed in conjunction with local government and provide a balance between promoting solar development and maintaining the services residents rely upon.
  • Meijer Warehouse Equipment PPT cut: SB 1153 – This bill, along with two other bills (SB 1149–1150) had proposed exempting consumer goods handling warehouse equipment from personal property, sales and use tax. The bills died on SB 1149 1150 1153 veto request letter 12.22.20the Governor’s desk when she declined to act on them before the 14 days expired at the end of the term. The League opposed all three bills and submitted a veto request letter to the Governor, which you can view here. These bills would have provided Meijer and other large commercial retailers with full sales, use, and personal property tax exemptions for all large-scale consumer goods handling warehouse distribution equipment. The League and all other local government and school groups, and the MI Department of Treasury testified in opposition to these bills and a separate three bill package that did not end up moving (SBs 1178, 1179, 1180) that would have provided similar sales, use, and personal property tax exemptions for so-called “micro-fulfillment” systems installed by retailers to facilitate filling online customer orders. The Governor had expressed concern publicly with SBs 1149, 1150, and 1153, questioning the unknown impact that these cuts would have on state and local revenues.
  • Summer Property Tax Deferral/Penalty & Interest Relief: SB 943 – Originally introduced this summer as part of the summer tax deferral proposal that was vetoed, a substitute version of SB 943 was quickly adopted and passed targeting a select number of industries hit hardest by the pandemic. This alternative approach would have allowed for the retroactive deferral of any delinquent summer tax bills and waiver of related penalties and interest from four specific industry segments, until Feb 15, 2021. The bill also provided for state reimbursement to local units for any forgiven penalties and interest owed on any of these deferred amounts.  Treasury had opposed the bill based upon concern over administering the program. The Governor declined to act on the bill before the expiration of the 14-day limit, resulting in a pocket veto.
  • Rental Inspections: SB 692 – The League was neutral on this bill as the change would have only impacted certain change of ownership situations and only for a limited time period, not indefinitely. This bill was also pocket vetoed based upon a limited rationale for the legislation.

Bills Opposed By The League That Died Without Action:

  • Zoning Preemption For Aggregate Mining: SB 431– The League strongly opposed this effort to preempt local units of government from virtually any zoning or other currently authorized regulation of gravel and aggregate mining.  This bill is expected to be reintroduced in 2021 and the League will continue to engage League members and work with our allies to block its passage.
  • Preempting Regulation Of Automated Delivery Devices: SB 892
  • Zoning Preemption For Certain Large Foster Care Facilities: HB 4095
  • Short-Term Rental Zoning Preemption: HB 4046

Legislation The League Will Continue To Pursue In 2021:

  • Headlee/Proposal A Reform: HB 6454 – This bill was introduced to address the negative interactions between Headlee and Proposal A before any property value reductions from the current pandemic recession could impact local budgets.  We are working with the bill sponsor to reintroduce this proposal in the new term.
  • Public Notice Reform: HB 6440 – This was the main bill in a more than 100-bill package that proposed reforming the current, obsolete public notice requirements throughout state law.  This is a reintroduction of a similar package that the League supported in the 2015-16 session.
  • Speed Limits: HB 4733 – This bill would have further clarified local government’s ability to adjust speed limit below the 85th percentile speed when demonstrating a situation with hazards to public safety through an engineering and safety study.
  • Stormwater Authority Creation: HB 4691 and Basement Back-Up Liability Protection: HB 4692
  • Dark Store Property Assessing Reform: SB 26 & 39
  • Veteran’s Property Tax Exemption: HB 4176

The League will also continue to prioritize restoration of cuts and additional protections for statutory revenue sharing, funding for municipal infrastructure at risk from high-water levels and shoreline erosion, and opportunities to improve funding for roads and underground infrastructure in the new term, among other priorities.

The 101st Legislature will officially be seated and commence action on Wednesday, January 13th. Since the House is re-forming under a new Republican Speaker (Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell), a new committee structure will be established, and new committee membership will need to be announced. At this point, only the incoming leadership team and the House Appropriations committee chairmanship (Thomas Albert, R-Lowell) have been revealed. Neither the House nor Senate leadership have revealed their policy agendas for the coming year. 

Following the ceremonial first day of session on the 13th, the state’s annual Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference is scheduled for 9 am on Friday, January 15th. This revenue conference will establish the baseline that the Governor’s budget team will utilize to craft her Executive Budget Recommendation that will likely be released in early February. The Governor’s State of the State address has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 27th at 7 pm.  That speech and the subsequent budget presentation will offer insight into the Administration’s legislative goals for the year. 

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Lame Duck Round Up – Week 3…

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With the Michigan Senate’s final action late Friday night, only Monday’s House session remains before the 100th Legislative Session comes to an end.

The Senate remained in session throughout the day Friday, concurring in bills that the House had sent over late on Thursday and working to formulate a deal on a year-end state budget supplemental.  As one of their final votes Friday night, the Senate passed SB 748, a $465 million appropriation bill aimed at providing additional, state-level Coronavirus relief.  Within the Senate-passed bill, $128 million is targeted at COVID-19  health-related programs funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, and over $278 million will run through the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to support an extension of state unemployment benefits and various small business grant offerings.  The League supported two items that were part of the appropriations for the Michigan Department of Treasury; a $5 million appropriation to cover the costs for any penalties or interest waived as part of the recently passed SB 943, which offers retroactive summer property tax deferrals to four specific industry segments harmed by pandemic shutdowns, and a change in the language outlining the First Responder Hazard Pay Premium program authorized earlier this summer, to extend the deadline for local units to have paid these hazard pay premiums to eligible employees out to December 29, 2020.

This appropriation bill now moves to the House for concurrence on Monday, along with a few remaining bills that the House was unable to act on last week.  The Governor has not indicated if she will support this supplemental appropriation.

The following are brief summaries of action during this third week of lame duck: 

OMA Virtual Meetings: The state House and Senate passed Senate Bill 1246 that would amend the Open Meetings Act to allow communities to continue meeting virtually due to the pandemic through March 31, 2021. The bill now heads to Governor Whitmer for approval. As you may recall the current law allows communities to meet virtually through the end of this month so getting this extension was a high priority for the League. This new legislation also allows a local state of emergency or state of disaster to be declared pursuant to a local ordinance (in addition to those declared under law or charter in the current law) and adds a local chief administrative officer (in addition to a local official or local governing body) as a person who may declare the local state of emergency. In addition, the bill sets requirements a public body shall follow if a meeting is held in person before April 1, 2021, including adherence to social distancing and mitigation measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and adopting heightened standards of facility cleaning. Read this blog by the League’s Jennifer Rigterink with all the details. 

Solar Projects Tax Exemptions: SB 1105 & 1106 – Status: passed House, both bills now head to the governor. The League is opposed to these bills and is drafting a veto request letter. These two bills would exempt all utility-grade solar projects from the industrial personal property tax and replace that lost property tax revenue with a Payment In Lieu of Tax reimbursement that amounts to pennies on the dollar for many local units.  Local units would also be required to approve every tax exemption certificate application if the project matches the definition of an “qualified renewable energy facility”, regardless of local land use or economic development plans or support.

Summer tax deferral: SB 943 – Status: passed, heads to governor for approval. Originally introduced this summer as part of the summer tax deferral proposal that was vetoed, a substitute version of SB 943 was quickly adopted and passed by the Senate to target a select number of industries hit hardest by the pandemic. This new version allows for the retroactive deferral of any currently delinquent summer tax bills and waiver of related penalties and interest from four specific industry segments, until Feb 15, 2021. The bill also provides that the state will reimburse local units for the lost penalties and interest owed on any of these deferred amounts (see summary of SB 748-supplemental budget appropriation above). It is not known if the Governor will sign the bill. 

Poverty exemption: SB 1234 – Status: passed House, heads to governor for approval. This bill amends the current residential property tax poverty exemption to assist with various COVID-related impacts that low-income residents are facing as they attempt to apply for the exemption. The League and the City of Detroit testified in support of these bills in both the House and Senate.  Treasury negotiated a number of amendments as a condition of their support prior to passage.

Meijer Warehouse Equipment PPT cut: SB 1153 – Status: passed House along with two other bills (SB 1149–1150) exempting this equipment from sales and use tax.  All three bills now head to the governor. The League opposed these three bills and is drafting a veto request letter. These bills would provide Meijer and other commercial retailers with full sales, use, and personal property tax exemptions for all large-scale consumer goods handling warehouse distribution equipment. The League and all other local government and school groups, and the MI Department of Treasury  testified in opposition to these bills. 

Historic Tax Credit: SB 54 – Status: passed House, heads to governor. This proposal has long been supported by the League to restore Michigan’s state-level Historic Tax Credit program that was repealed under former Governor Snyder. The new program will provide a 25 percent credit on rehabilitation expenses against state income tax. For homeowners in historic districts, this credit helps offset the costs of repairing older homes while retaining their historic attributes. SB 54 caps the total number of credits per year at $5 million in order to have minimal initial impact on the State budget. The necessary $5 million for funding of the first year of the credit was already appropriated in the current state fiscal year in anticipation of this bill’s passage.  

Water Shut-Offs: SB 241 – Status: passed House, heads to governor for signature. A new version of this bill was adopted to codify the Governor’s previous Executive Order related to water shut-offs. In early July Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 144 that placed a moratorium on water shutoffs until December 31st of this year. Following the nullification of the Governor’s E.O.s by the Michigan Supreme Court, the Administration and the Legislature negotiated the language in SB 241 to codify the intent of that E.O. in statute. This agreement in this bill would reinstate the moratorium on water shutoffs and extend the date to March 31, 2021. 

Tax foreclosure proceeds: SB 676 and 1137 – Status: passed House, heads to governor for approval. These bills have been developed in response to the recent Michigan Supreme Court Rafaeli decision that found that all “excess” proceeds from a tax foreclosure sale must be paid to the former owner of the property. This court decision could have a long-term harmful impact on County Delinquent Tax Revolving Funds that will lead to chargebacks being assessed to local taxing jurisdictions. Communities that also leverage their right of first refusal to acquire these foreclosed properties for the minimum bid may also face a more expensive path to acquiring these parcels as the court decision also puts the ability to acquire parcels for the minimum bid at risk. Following months of work group discussions and negotiations with local units, the County Treasurers Association, and the Michigan Department of Treasury, the League secured amendments to retain a process for local units to continue acquiring some parcels for the minimum bid and language providing for a local fiscal impact analysis from Treasury to help evaluate and make recommendations to address any increase in chargebacks to local units.

COVID Extension to Boards of Review: HB 5824 and 5825 – Status: House concurred in Senate changes, heads to governor for approval. The League supported these two bills which codify the Governor’s now nullified Executive Order that had extended the March 2020 Boards of Review and allowed certain additional appeals and valuation changes during the July 2020 Boards of Review.

Rental Inspections: SB 692 – Status: passed House, heads to governor for approval. The League was neutral on the bill as the change only impacts certain change of ownership situations. 

COVID critical infrastructure worker: SB 1258 – Status: passed Senate this week and the House is scheduled to vote on this bill on Monday. A new law adopted this fall established certain employee protections related to exposure to COVID-19. One aspect of the new law requires employees to quarantine for 14 days following certain instances of exposure. Specific classes of employees/businesses are exempt from that 14-day quarantine, like health care employees and first responders. The League advocated for the amendments in SB 1258, which would extend the specific employee/business exemption from the quarantine requirement to include critical infrastructure employees in the energy industry and other critical employee categories necessary to preserve public health or public safety, as determined by the Dept of Health & Human Services Director. The bill also provides additional flexibility for returning to work with negative test results and time periods for isolation and/or quarantine as determined appropriate by the CDC, as opposed to designating a specific number of days in statute. 

The House is scheduled to commence session on Monday, December 21st at 10 a.m. and wrap up action on around a dozen bills before ending for the year.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Lame Duck Round Up – Week 2

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We entered this second week of lame duck expecting action on bills along multiple fronts as the legislature positioned themselves to wrap up activity for the year next week. Instead, this second week ended up feeling a little more like waiting in limbo as the House cancelled all of their session and committee activities due to COVID concerns.  That left the week’s action to center on the Michigan Senate, which had already moved most of the bills on their agenda over to the House last week.  With the lack of House activity this week, that means most of the work left will fall on that chamber next week, while the Senate waits for the return of any items that will require Senate concurrence.  It is possible that the lame duck session will now be extended into the week of Christmas to ensure enough time to get any agreed up bills completed before the term ends.

Despite the absence of House action, the Senate did move the most critical item on the League’s agenda for lame duck.  Senate Bill 1246 (Theis), which amends the Open Meetings Act to provide an extension for remote/virtual public meetings until the end of March 2021, moved out of the Senate with an overwhelming 36-1 vote in support of the extension.  This bill will be at the top of our list to push out of the House next week, once they return to session.

The following is a brief summary of action that occurred this week on other bills that the League’s State & Federal Affairs team is engaged with…

  • SB 943 – Originally introduced this summer as part of the summer tax deferral proposal that was vetoed, a substitute version of SB 943 was quickly adopted and passed by the Senate yesterday to target a select number of industries hit hardest by the pandemic.  This new version allows for the retroactive deferral of any currently delinquent summer tax bills and waiver of related penalties and interest  from four specific industry segments, until Feb 15, 2021.  The bill also provides that the state will reimburse local units for the lost penalties and interest owed on any of these deferred amounts. The bill moves back to the House for a concurrence vote and a separate appropriation of the funds needed to cover those lost penalties and interest.  It is not known if the Administration will support the bill.
  • SBs 1257 & 1258 – The Senate introduced their own versions of HB 6448 and HB 6467 to address the exemptions of critical infrastructure workers from COVID-19 quarantine requirements under certain circumstances.  These bills specifically identify essential energy industry, water & wastewater, and other critical infrastructure workers.  The League has been actively engaged in providing broader exemptions to the current quarantine requirements for critical municipal operations.  The content of these bills continues to be negotiated between the legislature, Governor’s office, and interest groups like MML.  Action in both chambers is expected next week.
  • SB 241 – A new version of this bill was adopted on the Senate floor this week to codify the Governor’s previous Executive Order related to water shut-offs. In early July Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 144 that placed a moratorium on water shutoffs until December 31st of this year. This order was nullified by the Supreme Court. Since then the Admiration and the Legislature have been in negotiations to codify that order in statute and finally came to an agreement this week. This bill would reinstate the moratorium on water shutoffs and extend the date to March 31, 2021. Action on the bill by the House is expected next week.
  • HB 4159 – Provides oversight to brownfield redevelopment authorities. A  substitute version was adopted amending section 13b to increase the number of active projects that an authority may have at one time and also allow for a corresponding increase in administrative and operating costs relative to the number of projects. This change is also consistent with the recently updated MEDC strategic plan and their revised Community Revitalization Program guidelines. A concurrence vote is expected in the House next week.

A full agenda of bill activity is expected next week as both the House and Senate are expected to move most of the remaining lame duck priorities into position for final action.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Lame Duck Round Up – Week 1

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This week kicked off the first full week of lame duck legislative activity since the November election.  The League’s advocacy team is engaged on multiple fronts to promote a number of pieces of legislation we have been supporting and defending against a host of proposals that will harm local control and local budgets.

While the full calendar of expected lame duck session days is still a bit murky, our team is preparing for this lame duck period to extend through December 17th, giving legislators and committees two more weeks to try and complete legislative priorities.

Given that limited schedule, this first week of action focused on putting a large number of bills in play so that they could have enough time to be completed before the final adjournment for the year.

The following is a brief summary of action that occurred this week on bills that the League’s State & Federal Affairs team is engaged with…

  • HB 5824-5825 – These bills would codify the Governor’s Executive Order from earlier this year, that the court’s struck down, which extended the March and July Boards of Review.  The League supported these bills in Senate committee earlier this week and the full Senate voted today in unanimous support.
  • SB 1234 & HB 4828 – These bills are identical to each other and amend the current residential property tax poverty exemption to assist with various COVID-related impacts residents are facing as they attempt to apply for the exemption.  The League and the City of Detroit testified in support of these bills in both the House and Senate committees this week.  The full Senate reported SB 1234 unanimously this afternoon and further work is expected on the bills next week.
  • SB 1105–1106 – These two bills would exempt all utility-grade solar projects from the industrial personal property tax and replace that lost property tax revenue with a $3500/MW Payment In Lieu of Tax.  This amounts to pennies on the dolar for many local units versus the existing tax liability and would require mandatory approval of the exemption by all local units. The League previously testified in opposition to these bills, but did indicate a willingness to engage in discussions on a more reasonable PILT alternative that communities would have the option to employ, if this was a development they were choosing to incent. These bills were reported by the Senate in their original format earlier today along a mainly party-line vote and we continue to oppose.
  • SB 1153 & 1179 & HB 6198 & 6284 – These four bills are part of four identical tax exemption packages being considered by both the House and the Senate to provide Meijer and other commercial retailers with full sales, use, and personal property tax exemptions for all large-scale consumer goods handling warehouse distribution equipment and so-called “micro-fulfillment” system equipment used by retailers to assist with filling online orders.  The League and all other local government and school groups testified in both chambers in opposition to these bills.  The Senate reported the bills from committee yesterday and are expected to vote on the package later today.
  • SB 1203 – Would amend the General Property Tax Act to freeze the location of all personal property being used by remote workers as assessable only at the business’s ordinary location for the 2021 tax year. While the League took no position on this legislation, we are tracking its movement and making the argument that this proposal should be accompanied by a similar freeze in work location for remote workers whose ordinary work location falls within a city income tax community.
  • HB 6454 – This bill was introduced earlier this week to address the negative interactions between Headlee and Proposal A before any property value reductions from the current pandemic recession impact local budgets.
  • SB 676 & 1137 – These bills have been developed in response to a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that found that all “excess” proceeds from a tax foreclosure sale must be paid to the former owner of the property.  This court  decision could have a long-term harmful impact on County Delinquent Tax Revolving Funds that will lead to chargebacks being assessed to local taxing jurisdictions.  Communities that also leverage their right of first refusal to acquire these foreclosed properties for the minimum bid may also face a more expensive path to acquiring these parcels as the court decision also puts the ability to acquire parcels for the minimum bid at risk.  Following months or work group discussions and negotiations with local units, the County Treasurers Association, and the Michigan Dept of Treasury, these bills were reported from the Senate this week by a unanimous vote.
  • SB 431 – The League continues to strongly oppose this blatant move to preempt local units of government from virtually any zoning or other currently authorized regulation of gravel and aggregate mining.  This bill is expected to be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor later today and the League is vigorously working with our allies to secure enough votes to block its passage.
  • HB 6207 and SB 1246 – This legislation extends the current Open Meetings Act allowance for remote meetings during the current pandemic.  The current sunset date of 12/31/2020 would be extended through March of 2021 under the bill. The League has made this change a primary focus of our advocacy during lame duck. The bill was reported by House committee earlier this week and is expected to move off the House floor early next week.
  • HB 5822 – This League supported this legislation in House committee earlier this week to allow the City of Grand Rapids to establish their own Land Bank Authority in light of the recent dissolution of Kent County’s Land Bank.
  • SB 54 – This bill would restore Michigan’s state-level Historic Tax Credit program that was repealed under former Governor Snyder.  This proposal has long been supported by the League and was reported unanimously from committee and overwhelmingly out of the Senate earlier today.
  • HB 6440 – This is the main bill in a more than 100-bill package that would reform the current, obsolete public notice requirements throughout state law.  This is a reintroduction of a similar package that the League supported in the 2015-16 session.  The package was brought up on the House floor where it awaits sufficient support for passage.
  • HB 4035 – Legislation that allows regulation of dangerous behavior of dogs without reference to breed.  The League is neutral on this bill following significant negotiations to achieve the current compromise language and the bill was reported from Senate committee earlier this week.
  • HB 6448 & 6467 – These bills provide amendments to the recently enacted COVID employment protections that were passed earlier this fall by expanding the types of critical infrastructure workers exempt from the new law’s 14 day quarantine requirements. The League testified in support of both HB 6448 and HB 6467 in the House Judiciary Committee along with officials from the cities of Oak Park and St. Clair Shores, while also stressing the importance of incorporating all critical municipal services, like water and wastewater, in the exemption from the quarantine requirements.  Both bills passed House Judiciary Committee and await action on the House floor.
  • SB 234 – This proposal would allow Police Academy enrollees to be held accountable for tuition support from a municipality if they do not end up working for that community.  The League supports this proposal and it was reported from committee earlier this week.
  • SB 714  – Bill provides for the erection of certain emergency structures to prevent shoreline erosion.  Following a number of months of workgroup negotiations with EGLE, the League supported the version that was reported by the House committee this week.  The compromise proposal will streamline the application and processing timeline and allow for coordinated application processing with the Army Corps of Engineers.
  • HB 4733 Speed Limits – This bill would further clarify local government’s ability to adjust speed limit below the 85th percentile speed when we are able to demonstrate a situation with hazards to public safety through an engineering and safety study. This bill was voted out of House Ways and Means Committee this week with the League’s support.
  • SB 1215–1218 Movable Bridges – The League and Bay City officials testified in support of a package of bills in Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee this week that would help Bay City address the replacement of two city-owned movable bridges. Due to the unique nature of these bridges and the extraordinarily high cost of replacement, legislation was needed that would allow for Bay City to enter into a public-private partnership that will provide for the replacement of both bridges and free up substantial city resources that can be invested in other infrastructure projects. This package received bipartisan support this week as it moved unanimously out of the Senate.
  • HB 5762 – Provides for waste water or drinking water energy performance contracting projects to be funded by the state revolving loan fund. The League supported this legislation based on the added flexibility to this program that will continue to increase opportunities for funding for municipalities.  The bill was reported from House committee earlier this week and awaits final floor action.

Many of the bills outlined above will likely see continuing action next week.  League members are encouraged to connect with their legislators on these issues.  Please reach to anyone of the State & Federal Affairs team if you have questions on these or any other bills.  Thank you for your support!

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.