Author Archives: Samantha Harkins

Problematic Local Option Tax Exemption for School Properties on Senate Floor

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Contact your Senator to voice concerns regarding House Bill 4121, a bill that as passed would allow local units of government to exempt property purchased from a school district from real property taxes for five years.

The legislation would automatically exempt these properties unless the local unit of government passes a resolution to place them back on the tax rolls within 60 days of the effective date of the legislation.  As a result if a local unit does not specifically pass that resolution, any school property sold in your community would automatically be off the tax rolls.

Contact your Senator to let them know how this legislation would negatively impact your community!

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

Application Period Extended for Competitive Grant Assistance Program

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The application period for the first round of the Competitive Grant Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 2014 has been extended.  Applications will now be accepted through January 24, 2014.

Visit the Department of Treasury’s website for more information.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

House Considers Legislation Decreasing Interest on County Chargebacks

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Last week the House Local Government Committee heard testimony on HB 5074, a bill that would change the monthly interest rate that a county treasurer can charge other taxable units in the county that have delinquent property taxes due. The current monthly rate of interest is one percent. Under the bill, the monthly rate of interest would be “up to” one percent.
Under Michigan’s tax reversion process, county treasurers can assess “chargebacks” under the protocol they follow when local units of government have borrowed from a county’s delinquent tax revolving fund. If summer and winter property taxes are not collected by March 1 of the following year that the tax is owed, local treasurers pass on notices of unpaid or delinquent taxes to county treasurers. In many counties, the county treasurer runs a delinquent tax revolving fund.
Upon receiving the notices of unpaid taxes, the county treasurer advances funds to those
local governments that are owed taxes, making them financially whole at that time with
the understanding that local treasurers will pay back the advance, either after the taxes in
arrears are paid by the property owners, or after the property is sold at a public auction. Under state statute, county treasurers charge a monthly interest rate of 1 percent for advancing the money to make the local unit of government whole.  This legislation would give the county discretion to charge “up to” one percent.
The committee did not vote on the legislation.
Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

House Considers Legislation Eliminating Printed Copies of Tax Rolls

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Last week the House Local Government Committee heard testimony on HB 5102, a bill that would eliminate the requirement that county treasurers make a printed copy of the tax rolls available for inspection, if the tax roll is maintained on a computerized database.
Now under the law, the State Tax Commission must authorize the use of a computerized
data base system as the tax roll if the local tax collecting unit or the county treasurer
demonstrates that the proposed system has the capacity to enable compliance with nine state requirements. House Bill 5102 would eliminate in their entirety the four requirements for printed copies to be available of (1) the “original pre-collection tax roll,” (2) a separate printout of “all parcel splits and combinations,” (3) a separate computer printout of all corrections and adjustments to the pre-collection tax roll authorized the by the board of review,” and (4) the requirement to make available “a posted computer printed tax roll.”
The committee did not vote on the legislation, and we anticipate another committee hearing on the bill.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

House Passes Firefighter Bargaining Preemption

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Yesterday the House passed House Bill 4624, a bill that would make a full-time firefighter’s ability to work as a firefighter in another community a prohibited subject of bargaining.The legislation is supported by the fire chiefs and the Michigan Townships Association.

The League is opposed to this legislation as it violates local control in the bargaining process. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

Governor Signs Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans

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This week the Governor signed Senate Bill 352 (now PA 161 of 2013), a bill that would create a tax exemption for disabled veterans.

This new law specifically exempts from property taxes real property used and owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran who was discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States under honorable conditions.

The League opposed this legislation and will continue to be opposed to mandatory property tax exemptions. In 2011 the legislature and administration eliminated state tax exemptions so as to not “pick winners and losers” and balance the state budget. Yet we continue to combat legislation that mandates our members give property tax exemptions for various individuals. The policy is inconsistent, and we are opposed to this piecemeal look at tax policy.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

Senate Finance Passes Bill Allowing Economic Development Tax Exemptions

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Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee reported Senate Bill 536, a bill that would allow local units of government to exempt an “eligible economic development group” from property taxes for a period of five to seven years.

In order to receive this abatement a local unit must pass a resolution allowing the eligible entity to receive the exemption. The committee adopted a substitute bill that can be viewed here: SB 536 (s-1).

The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

 

Incompatible Office Changes Pass House

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Last week the House passed House Bill 4939, a bill that would allow a department head to serve as a city manager.

The legislation was prompted by a community in Rep. Knezek’s district where the police chief is serving as interim city manager. Under the current statute this is permissible in communities with less than 25,000 population. This legislation would expand it to larger communities. The substitute that passed committee would limit this option to communities of 100,000 people. We are interested in ensuring that exception is available for communities of all sizes.

The legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

CALL MISS-DIG! Failure to do so could result in penalties!

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CALL MISS-DIG. Under the legislation passed unanimously yesterday by the House, a local unit of government faces penalties if they do not call the MISS-DIG system when beginning a project that involves digging. If a local unit does call MISS-DIG there is no liability.

This morning the House Energy and Technology Committee unanimously reported on Senate Bills 539 and 540.  Originally the legislation last session would have entirely exempted any action under the MISS-DIG Act from government immunity. That was problematic for us, so the fee structure arose as a result of many discussions with the Senate and the Governor’s office, as well as utility stakeholders. The League always has concerns with expanding government immunity.  Given, however, the inclination of the legislation to create an exception to governmental immunity, this is an extremely narrow exception.

The legislation will now head to the Governor for his signature.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

Senate Committee Considers Federal Balanced Budget Resolution

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Yesterday the Senate Government Operations Committee considered SJR V, a joint resolution that would petition the Congress of the United States to call a convention of the states for the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a balanced budget, in the absence of a national emergency.  The League opposed this joint resolution.
Specifically, the proposed constitutional amendment would provide that, “in the absence of a national emergency the total of all federal appropriations made by the congress for any fiscal year may not exceed the total of all estimated federal revenues for that fiscal year, together with any related and appropriate fiscal restraints”.
Thirty two states have passed similar resolutions, and thirty four are required to call the convention.  The League is concerned about the impact the stringent spending requirements the resolution would have. The federal government would be forced to choose the programs to cut, and this could include cutting federal funding that helps states pay for schools, roads, water treatment, equipment for police officers, and a range of other state and local priorities. It is very likely that Congress would choose to cut funding for state programs more deeply than they cut funding for federal priorities, under the reasoning that states can raise their own revenue to make up the difference.
Samantha Harkins is Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org.