Category Archives: Legislative Link Articles

Local Infrastructure Report Released by National League of Cities

Posted on by

The National League of Cities released a new report Paying for Local Infrastructure in a New Era of Federalism.  Declining funding, increasing mandates and misaligned priorities at the federal and states levels have put responsibility for infrastructure on local governments. But what ability do cities have to take up this call? The authority of cities to meaningfully address growing infrastructure challenges is bound by levers authorized to them by their states. The report finds that cities are limited in the number and scope of tools they are authorized to use, and that access to these tools is highly uneven in states across the country.

Summer Minnick is the Director of External Relations and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org.

Flint Aid Package Awaits Action in US Senate

Posted on by

Recently, Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters introduced legislation, along with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and many others, to provide additional resources for water infrastructure in light of the crisis in Flint. The legislation, S. 2579, would provide:

  • $100 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund for any state, such as Michigan, that receives an emergency declaration under the Stafford Act due to a public health threat from lead or other contaminants in a public drinking water supply system;
  • $70 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) for low-interest loans for large water and wastewater infrastructure projects nationwide; and
  • $50 million to support public health initiatives, such as lead poisoning prevention, research and health assistance.

A more robust description is attached below. The bill is currently “attached” as an amendment to an energy bill in the Senate. The hold up of its passage is Senator Lee (R-UT), who has placed a “hold” on the legislation, a procedural move prevent a vote. The National League of Cities is asking cities across the country to contact their Senators to help apply pressure and send a message that all cities stand together on the Flint crisis. We are hopeful that negotiations which are occurring while the Senate is on break will result in a positive outcome when they return next week.

DRINKING WATER SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ACT – Summary (3 1)

Summer Minnick is the Director of External Relations and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org.

Urge Your Representative to Vote NO on HB 5016

Posted on by

Here is an urgent action alert we’ve sent to our members this morning:

We need your help! The Michigan House is currently working on legislation, HB 5016, that could be voted on this week that the Michigan Municipal League strongly opposes. The bill would require municipalities to reimburse a telecommunications provider a portion of relocation costs if a community fails to notify the provider at least one year in advance of a project that will require relocation of their lines.

Additionally, communities will no longer be able to charge for a permit fee, inspection fee, or survey cost, when a relocation is required. The bill also fails to provide any protection to the municipality if the provider installs or relocates their lines in an area other than allowed by the permit or causes construction delays.

If passed, municipalities would be required to pay a private for-profit company for moving their telecommunication lines within the public right-of-way. Communities are already prohibited from denying the telecommunications access to these public spaces they get to occupy for free. This proposed legislation sets a terrible precedent in this state and could lead to other utility providers, i.e. gas and electric companies, to seek the same deal.

Relocation costs can be very expensive. If communities are required to shoulder a portion of those costs it could result in projects being delayed, scaled back, or even eliminated as a result of this unnecessary, one-sided legislation.

The League encourages you to contact your representative TODAY and tell them to oppose HB 5016 and protect our taxpayers from paying these costs. Go here to get the contact info for your legislators.

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.

USDOT Proposes to Remove Restrictive Design Guidelines

Posted on by

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) took an encouraging and surprising step, proposing to ease federally-mandated design standards on many roads, making it dramatically easier for cities and communities of all sizes to design and build complete streets that are safer for everyone.

Currently, FHWA has a long list of design criteria that local communities and states must adhere to when building or reconstructing certain roads, unless they choose to go through an arduous process of requesting an exception to do things like line a downtown street with street trees, reduce the width of lanes to add a bike lane, or curve a street slightly to slow traffic and make it safer for people in cars and on foot.

In this new proposed rule, FHWA decided after a thorough review to scrap 11 of 13 current design criteria for certain roads because they decided these criteria have “minimal influence on the safety or operation on our urban streets” and has a stronger connection for rural roads, freeways and higher speed urban arterials.

FHWA deserves praise for their leadership on this important issue. The rule is open to public comment through December 7, 2015. Let’s take the opportunity to provide public comment and thank FHWA for their leadership and make sure it is implemented to help make safer streets for all to enjoy.

For more information click here.

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.

Legislature Considering Bills That Would Remove Local Control Over Setting Speed Limits

Posted on by

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering five bills, HB 4423, 4424, 4425, 4426, and 4427, that would dramatically impact the ability of local units to set safe and context sensitive speed limits within their municipal boundaries.

HB 4425 would require that speed limits be set at the 85th percentile of speed. Fundamentally we believe that all users of the road way should be taken into account when setting a speed limit. The 85th speed study with-in this legislation is set up to look only at the free-flow of traffic, under ideal conditions, and on the fastest portion of the roadway. We believe this completely neglects taking the context of the roadway, the surrounding environment, pedestrian traffic (walking or biking), transit, or the views and needs of the community into account.

When we look at the 85th percentile of speed it should be a diagnosis not a prescription. It can be a useful and rational tool to help understand speeds on on local streets but should not be looked at as the only solution. Other states incorporate a broad number of mitigation criteria that allow flexibility to lower speed limits below the 85th percentile of speed. Too often we talk just about increasing the speed to the 85th percentile for safety reasons but rarely do we talk about how we could reduce the 85th percentile so everyone using the roadway is safer.

Each community is best suited to understand local conditions that place children, the disabled, seniors and other vulnerable roadway users in harm’s way, and we are opposed to any attempt that diminishes our communities efforts and ability to provide a safe and inviting environment.

We encourage you to reach out to your legislator and ask that they do not take away local control over our ability to set speed limits. Additionally you may choose to adopt a resolution such as Grand Haven and Grandville have done and share that with your legislator.

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.

 

Legislation Attempts to Shift Broadband Relocation Costs to Communities

Posted on by

Legislation recently introduced in the House attempts to shift broadband relocation costs to communities and we urge you to reach out to your legislator to defeat it. HB 5016 would require cities and villages to reimburse an entity holding a license under the Michigan Telecommunications Act, or a franchise under the Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act, for relocation costs if both of the following apply:

  1. The city, village, township, or county, or the state transportation department, did either of the following: Requested the entity to temporarily or permanently relocate its facilities, or requested the entity to temporarily or permanently relocate its facilities to protect those facilities due to construction or other activity by the city, village, township, or county, or the state transportation department.
  2. The entity invests money in broadband infrastructure in this state.
If a city or village requests an entity to relocate facilities, the community would also be required to waive any permit fees or inspection fees.
If a city or village requests an entity to conduct any survey or study related to relocating facilities, the community must reimburse the entity for those survey or study costs.
A reimbursement of relocation costs by the government agency to an eligible entity shall be made as follows:
  • 100% reimbursement for relocation costs, if the entity’s facilities were placed in the public right-of-way less than five years before the date of the request to relocate
    those facilities.
  • 75% reimbursement for relocation costs, if the entity’s facilities were placed in the public right-of-way five years or more but fewer than nine years before the date of the request to relocate those facilities.
  • 50% reimbursement for relocation costs,if the entity’s facilities were placed in the
    public right-of-way nine years or more but less than 12 years before the date of the
    request to relocate those facilities.
  • 25% reimbursement for relocation costs, if the entity’s facilities were placed in the public right-of-way 12 years or more but less than 15 years before the date of the
    request to relocate those facilities.

The METRO Act requires telecommunication providers to pay the Metro Authority an annual maintenance fee for access to and use of municipal public rights-of-way. The Act also provides that they receive an annual property tax credit equal to the funds/costs paid in annual maintenance fees. The receipt of this tax credit results in the telecom provider paying little or no annual costs for access to and use of municipal public rights-of-way. The METRO Act provides that the tax credit shall be the sole method of recovery for the costs required under the act.

Additionally, Section 4.10 of the METRO Act permit agreements requires “…If a Municipality requests Permittee to relocate, protect, support, disconnect or remove its Facilities because of street or utility work, or other public projects, Permittee shall relocate, protect, support, disconnect, or remove its Facilities, at its sole cost and expense…”

The League believes the transfer of these cost to our communities makes them unfairly shoulder the costs and is in direct conflict with the METRO Act. We urge you to reach out to your legislator and let them know that municipalities should not be responsible for these costs and to vote no on this legislation. This bill could be voted on the first week of December when the Legislature returns from Thanksgiving break. They need to hear from you if we are going to be successful in defeating this bill.

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.

Fluoridation Equipment Grant Available Through Department of Health and Human Services

Posted on by

Fluoridation of a community water system is one of the most cost effective and efficient ways to reduce dental disease in a population. Over 65 years of research on this topic has proven community water fluoridation to be safe and effective in improving the oral health of the community’s citizens.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Oral Health Program is primarily looking to promote community water fluoridation by offering to reimburse communities currently not fluoridating for fluoridation equipment purchases for the sole purpose to initiate community water fluoridation in their community. A generous gift from Delta Dental of Michigan is once again available to help communities with acquiring new fluoridation equipment.

Close to 7 million people in Michigan are benefiting from community fluoridated water. For those systems currently wishing to initiate this basic public health practice in their communities the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Oral Health Program is providing grants of up to $24,000 to assist with the cost of the purchase and installation of fluoridation equipment. The funds must be used for new and replacement fluoridation equipment purchased in the contract period of April 1, 2016- September 15, 2016.

First priority will be given to Michigan water systems currently without a water fluoridation program. If funds allow, reimbursement for replacement fluoridation equipment will be offered to those Michigan communities needing to update their fluoridation equipment for the sole purpose of continuing community water fluoridation in their community.

For more information please click the following link. 2015-16_Fluoridation_RFP_504412_7

Should your community have any question regarding the fluoridation of a community water system please contact Sandra Sutton, Community Water Fluoridation Coordinator, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, at 517-373-0238 or suttons2@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.

Significant Changes Coming to Rural Task Force Program

Posted on by

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) , in conjunction with the Rural Task Force (RTF) Oversight Board is please to announce it has achieved significant milestones in improving the RTF Program in a way that fulfills federal oversight rules and better meets the needs of rural programs.

In early 2016, the RTF Oversight Board will begin rolling out materials and guidance documents to bring more transparency and equity to the way federal funds flow through Michigan’s Rural Task Forces and Regional Planning agencies.

The Oversight Board has come to a consensus on a better path forward to improve how local federal obligation dollars are distributed, allocated, and obligated in the RTF Process.

Please click on the following link for key statements that summarize the new milestones. MDOT RTF Milestone Letter

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.

Drain Commissioners Seek Guidance on Improving Cooperation with City Officials

Posted on by

The Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners is working to improve communication and partnerships with locally elected officials. To advance this goal, the group has constructed a quick survey for city leaders to complete. The survey should take no more than five minutes. The group believes our input is crucial in determining where and how they need to improve the relationships between county drain commissioners and city officials.

To begin the survey please click here.

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.

Act 51 Compliance Requirements Due September 30th

Posted on by

Act 51 compliance requirements are due September 30th as a result of changes that were made to the compliance requirements of Public Act 51 of 1951, Section 18j, MCL 247.668j related to funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation for roadways within local units of government.

To comply, by September 30, 2015, a certificate regarding the compensation plans for your local transportation employees must be completed, signed, submitted to the State Department of Transportation and posted on your municipal website. MDOT has summarized the compliance requirements in FAQ form.

If this form is not submitted by September 30th MDOT may withhold Act 51 funding for non-compliance.

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.