Author Archives: John LaMacchia II

Committee Hearings Begin on House Transportation Proposal

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The newly formed Roads and Economic Development committee held the first of three committee hearings this morning on a package of bills introduced by House Republicans to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads.

HB 4610 allows townships contributing greater than 50% to a road project over $50,000 to require competitive bidding and the League has no position on this legislation due to it having no direct impact on our communities.

HB 4611 would require competitive bidding on all MDOT and local road projects over $100,000, and HB 4613 would require MDOT and local road agencies to secure warranties for projects over $1 million. We are currently opposed to these two bills as part of this package. The League believes we must find a sustainable long-term solution to the problem that includes new revenue that is dedicated to the entire transportation system.

The proposed package of bills only has $50 million in new revenue with the remaining billion coming from reprioritizing General Fund spending and projected growth. It neglects to make a much need investment in transit and jeopardizes economic development funding many of our communities benefit from. This plan impacts the long-term certainty our communities need to plan and one of the key factors for our opposition.

The League is committed to working with the legislature towards a long term solution and we are hopeful that solution can found sooner rather than later.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

 

DEQ’s Road Right-of-Way Alternate Institutional Control Process Survey

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Michigan’s environmental cleanup laws allow for the use of institutional controls when environmental contamination is proposed to be left in-place at a property. Often times, this contamination has migrated onto property controlled or operated by local units of government, tribal government or other authority, such as, road right-of-ways. Institutional controls are generally administrative and legal tools that are created for the purpose of providing information regarding the risks associated with contamination and the activities that are to be restricted or prohibited to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and the environment.

In 2014, the Remediation and Redevelopment Division (RRD) of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) introduced its Road Right-Of-Way Alternate Institutional Control as an instrument that may be used when contamination is proposed to be left in-place within a road right-of-way.

The DEQ-RRD has invited our members to complete a simple survey to provide them with an understanding of your knowledge, use, concerns or desire to learn more regarding the use of this instrument to control exposure and the risks associated with contamination within a road right-of-way. For a link to the survey please click here.

For questions regarding the survey, please contact Mr. Kevin Schrems at 517-284-5149 or schremsk@michigan.gov, or Mr. Dan Yordanich at 517-284-5174 or yordanichd@michigan.gov.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

 

Speaker Cotter Unveils House Republican Transportation Solutions

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At a press conference this afternoon Speaker Kevin Cotter released the House Republican transportation plan. The highlights are below.

  • This plan will generate $1.05 billion for transportation
  • $700 million from the General Fund
  • $185 million from Reprioritizing Restricted Funds
  • $162 million from Tax Fairness
  • Reforms and Efficiencies

General Fund: The $700 million the Speaker is proposing will come from expected future growth in revenues and additional anticipated revenue available based on the upcoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. This portion of the plan lacked specifics so it is yet to be determined what impact this would have on the state budget moving forward but the Speaker said he would be able to do this without making cuts.

Reprioritizing Restricted Funds: Of the $185 million, $75 million will come from tobacco settlement dollars currently in the 21st Century Jobs Fund, $60 million from the states tribal gaming compact, and $50 million from eliminating the film tax credit.

Tax Fairness: The Speaker will achieve the projected $162 million through the creation of tax fairness by eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit and using that $117 million for roads. The remaining $45 million will come from diesel parody and increased fees on electric and hybrid vehicles.

Reforms and Efficiencies: The plan will require competitive bidding on all MDOT and local road projects over $100,000, require MDOT and local road agencies to secure warranties for projects over $1 million, and allow townships contributing greater than 50% to a road project over $50,000 to require competitive bidding.

Other highlights in this plan include a phase in over four year with $522 million going to roads in FY 16, $697 million in FY 17, $872 million in FY 18, $1.05 billion in FY 19 and beyond. All of the new money would only be sent to MDOT, Counties, and Cities and Villages. None of the new money would go to transit operations. The current gas tax will remain at 19 cents but would be tied to inflation under this plan. A copy of the document Speaker Cotter provided can be found at the following link. House Republican Road Funding Plan

As the League gathers more details on this plan in the coming days we will be sure to update you with any new information.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Save the Date for the 3rd Annual Michigan Rail Conference

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Save the date for the 3rd Annual Michigan Rail Conference!

This year’s event will be held in Grand Rapids at the Grand Valley State University Eberhard Center on August 19 & 20. The program includes plenary sessions in the morning filled with presentations related to freight & passenger rail activities in Michigan. The afternoon will feature breakout sessions that could include rail project development in the past year; equipment and rolling stock development; education/labor needs/workforce development; government regulation; and shipper’s needs. National, regional, and local rail experts will be on hand to offer their insight and comments. The final program will be posted on the Michigan Tech University website by mid-May; and contacts regarding general questions or registration are included on the flyer. MI Rail Conference-Save the date

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

MDOT Accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F Applications

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The Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Economic Development is currently accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F applications for Fiscal Year 2017. Eligible applicants include cities, villages and county road commissions. Proposed projects must be on federal-aid designated routes within federal aid urban areas located in a county with a population of 400,000 or fewer. Higher consideration is given to applications that propose improving all-season capabilities on routes having high commercial traffic or those that improve access to state trunklines.

The application deadline for Category F grants is Monday June 1, 2015. The application and instructions can be accessed at http://www.michigan.gov/tedf For questions, please contact Matt Wiitala, at 517-241-2152 or wiitalam@michigan.gov.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People, Safer Streets

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Secretary Foxx

Secretary Foxx

Anthony Foxx, U.S.Transportation Secretary, is challenging mayors and local elected officials to take significant action to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities over the next year. Mayors’ Challenge participants will be invited to attend the Mayors’ Summit for Safer People, Safer Streets in March, and their cities will spend a year helping their communities undertake seven activities to improve safety. The challenge is based on the 2010 USDOT Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation.

For more information and to sign up for the challenge please click here. Michigan communities already signed up include Ann Arbor, Flint, Jackson, Traverse City and Westland.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Changes to 2015 METRO Act Payments

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The Michigan Municipal League has been asked to inform eligible municipalities that the 2015 METRO Act payments may be delayed by approximately 15 to 30 days, due to a change in state law transitioning the functions and responsibilities of the Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight (METRO) Authority to the new Local Community Stabilization Authority (LCSA).

The transition process will have minimal impact on municipalities as all the provisions of the METRO Act, except for the administration of functions and responsibilities of the former METRO Authority, remain unchanged. The primary changes under the LCSA include:

1. Maintenance fee payments from telecommunication providers will be paid to the LCSA and deposited into an LCSA account maintained by Comerica Bank. Payments will not be deposited with the State of Michigan.

2. Comerica Bank will distribute METRO Act payments to municipalities on behalf of the LCSA.

3. Please Note: You will no longer receive METRO Act payments via State of Michigan warrants or electronic transfer. Payments by check or electronic transfer will be processed by Comerica Bank on behalf of the LCSA with a notation that payment is a METRO Act payment.

For more information and FAQ’s about the METRO Act functions of the LCSA, please visit www.michigan.gov/lcsa or e-mail LCSA at metroinfo@michigan.gov. The LCSA expects to create its own new website in the near future. Please click on the following link for a copy of the letter provided by LCSA. Changes to 2015 Metro Act Payments

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Michigan Municipal League to Host Safe Roads Symposium in Sterling Heights About Proposal 1

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Open invitation to Proposal 1 symposium in Sterling Heights March 31.

Open invitation to Proposal 1 symposium in Sterling Heights March 31.

The Michigan Municipal League will host a Safe Roads Symposium on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The event will take place at the Velocity Collaboration Center, 6633 18 Mile Rd, Sterling Heights, MI 48314, and will be open to the public.

A panel of experts will break down the details and impacts of Proposal 1.

To view the official invitation, click here.

For more information please contact the Velocity Collaboration Center at 586-884-9322.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

MDOT Local Agency Program Urges Submission of Projects

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The FHWA is undergoing an effort to modernize the FMIS 4 system to FMIS 5. This development is scheduled to be deployed on April 13, 2015. MDOT has been informed by FHWA that access to FMIS will be unavailable between April 1st and April 13th as they prepare for this conversion. MDOT is doing everything it can to prepare for these deadlines, but please take note that the access and functionality of FMIS 5 beginning April 13th (as with any IT deployments) has the potential to be faulty or unresponsive.

MDOT is requesting that any needs related to an initiation or modification for a job phase after April 1st and for the month of April be submitted by COB March 27th to be processed by MDOT and FHWA by March 30th. We do not want to risk any letting schedules or have project expenditures ineligible for federal reimbursement resulting from an authorization not being in place.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

The Transportation Asset Management Council Requests Nominations for its Organizational and Individual Achievement Awards

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A primary objective of Michigan’s Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC)
is to assist Act 51 agencies implement an asset management program for roads and
bridges under their jurisdiction. To this end, the TAMC has facilitated statewide
collection of system condition data, supported the development of tools and procedures,
and sponsored training and educational sessions in the practice of asset management.

To further aid Act 51 agencies, the TAMC has established the Organizational
Achievement Award to acknowledge those agencies that have incorporated the principles
of asset management and adopted an asset management plan to help guide their
investment decisions. In addition, the TAMC Awards Program provides agencies around
the state with excellent case examples to establish their own programs. All Act 51 road
agencies are eligible to be nominated for this award.

Additionally, the TAMC wants to recognize individuals providing outstanding support of
Asset Management and the TAMC. Nominees for the Individual Achievement Award can
include elected officials (state or local), support staff from state agencies, regional /
metropolitan planning organizations, county road commissions, local units of
government, the education community or other individuals involved in promoting
Michigan’s TAMC programs.

Further in information about the TAMC awards program can be found at the following link. TAMCAward_Criteria_2014

Nominations and/or any questions can be sent to Frank Kelley. He can be reached at KelleyF@michigan.gov or 517-373-211.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, and energy issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.