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MDOT has released the timeliness report for bridge safety inspections for local agencies. A copy of the report can be found below.
John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling Transportation issue. he can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.
This afternoon the senate passed a set of bills, HB 4458-4464, to prohibit a TIF district from keeping tax increment revenues from ad valorem property taxes levied under the Zoological Authorities Act and the Art Institute Authorities Act. This language is added into the following acts:
In this debate we want to make sure the value these districts have on local communities throughout the state is not lost. I would encourage you to contact your legislators and let them know the benefit of the TIFs used in your community as well as give them an idea of the investments that they have brought into the area so they can understand the importance of them for economic development purposes. These are a few of the last tools communities have to revitalize struggling areas and to not have them or severely limit them would have a detrimental impact on not just the municipality but the entire region.
Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues. She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.
Municipalities may order Community Signage from Amtrak at no cost. These signs are designed to alert people to the fact that your town or city contains and intercity passenger rail station. More information on these signs can be found here.
John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.
State Representatives from the Grand Rapids area will be hosting a transportation town hall next Monday, June 10th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Grand Rapids. The location will be at Grand Valley State University’s Pew Downtown Campus, in room 215A of the Eberhard Center. The address is 301 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids MI, 48504. Parking is available in the Eberhard Lot, which is off Front Avenue.
The event is being hosted by the following State Representatives:
The Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, Kirk Steudle, will also attend and be available for a question and answer session.
We encourage you to consider attending this town hall. Please help express the importance of local communities in the overall transportation system and how this system needs to be inclusive of all modes of transportation. This issue is more than about just building roads and the view from curb to curb. It is about building great places that contribute to the economic growth and success of Michigan.
John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.
The Conference Committee on Transportation voted out a budget today that included an additional $350 million dollars. Those dollars will be split two ways, $121 million going to the Federal Aid Match Requirement and the remaining funds into a new Priority Roads Investment Program. This increased funding is a direct result of the budget surplus.
The Priority Roads Investment Program will have $115 million available to spend this year with the remaining carrying over to the following year. The legislature will be responsible for appropriating the money to specific projects around the state.
With no deal on new transportation funding the budget did not include the recommended $1.2 billion Governor Snyder requested. The Governor is still committed to to solving the need for greater investment in transportation and will be working with the legislation over the next few weeks, and likely the coming months, to come to an agreement on increase funding for transportation.
John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate with the League handling transportation issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.
The Michigan Fitness Foundation offers an opportunity for all communities to start their own Labor Day tradition by hosting a Labor Day Community Walk.
Labor Day Community Walks showcase the unique parks and recreation spaces in the local community’s own backyard. The event also gives the community a chance to come together while demonstrating a commitment to keep Michigan moving. Past community walks included activities such as walks and/or runs through public trails and across local versions of the “Mighty Mac.” Host organizations will receive free promotional materials and a guide to creating and hosting a community walk. In addition, your event will be endorsed by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Health and you will have the opportunity to use our logo on all materials.
This year Labor Day Community Walks will take place on Monday, September 2, 2013. We hope that you will consider making your community a part of Michigan’s Labor Day tradition. To learn more about the walk, please visit the Michigan Fitness Foundation’s website. For more information, please visit: http://www.michiganfitness.org/labor-day-community-walks. To register your community and receive free support materials, please contact Rokeyta Roverson at rroberson@michiganfitness.org.
Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues. She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.
Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee considered two bills that would create tax exemptions for disabled veterans.
Senate Bill 104 would allow a community to give a tax exemption to a qualified disabled veteran. This is an option for a community and not a mandate.
The committee also considered Senate Bill 352, which would specifically exempt 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 continues 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
Today the House Local Government committee held testimony on SBs 35-39, a package of bills dealing with blighted properties. These bills would:
The League was joined by officials from the city of Jackson (Dan Greer, Bethany Smith, Dennis Diffenderfer), in testifying in opposition to the bills because of the exemptions for financial institutions, credit unions and governmental entities. We absolutely appreciate the intent of the bill sponsors in trying to give more tools to local communities with Administrative Hearings Bureaus to deal with blight offenders but these exemptions carve out a large chunk of the blight offenders. We look forward to working with the bill sponsors as this goes forward to address our issues.
Nikki Brown is a legislative associate with the League handling economic development and land use issues. She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org of 517-908-0305.
HB 4458-4464 passed the Senate Economic Development Committee this week. These would prohibit a TIF district from keeping tax increment revenues from ad valorem property taxes levied under the Zoological Authorities Act and the Art Institute Authorities Act. This language is added into the following acts:
There is a larger discussion happening in the legislature on TIF tax capture in general. I would encourage you to contact your legislators and let them know the benefit of the TIFs used in your community as well as give them an idea of the investments that they have brought into the area so they can understand the importance of them for economic development purposes. These are a few of the last tools communities have to revitalize struggling areas and to not have them or severely limit them would have a detrimental impact on not just the municipality but the entire region.
Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues. She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.
HB 4629 passed out of the House Transportation Committee this week. This bill was created in most part to deal with issues that were presented to MDOT from a federal audit done on the Highway Advertising Act. If these issues (definition for digital billboards, definition for non-conforming billboard, etc) are not address, the state will lose a portion of their federal transportation funding. This bill was introduced last session and because of the short time frame of lame duck, didn’t pass. This bill would allow a local unit of government to create a more stringent policy than that at the state level if they so choose to. We also asked that the word “operation” be added into what can be regulated by the local unit of government to ensure that digital billboards would be encompassed in that definition. Before passing committee, an amendment was also added on to change the spacing requirements for digital billboards from 1,500 feet to 1,750 feet and to make the “dwell time” 8 seconds instead of 6 seconds.
Because of the federal funding attached to the bill and the local control piece being enhanced, we are neutral on HB 4629.
Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues. She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.