The Michigan Municipal League encourages you to contact U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow TODAY to urge their support of the Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act. At stake is more than a half billion dollars that could have a significant impact on Michigan communities.

Here are details from the National League of Cities: The NLC asks Michigan municipal officials to contact Senators Levin and Stabenow TODAY to urge their support of S. 2609. Without this bill, Michigan is expected to lose $650 million in remote sales (mainly internet sales) in fiscal year 2014, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. But if this bill is approved, even with likely exemptions for small sellers, the Michigan treasury department estimates that our state would gain $450 million to $500 million. This amount would presumably increase each year. This additional revenue could have a profound impact on state revenue sharing to local units and other programs that impact municipalities.

Please contact Senators Levin and Stabenow today. A quick phone call from you would be most effective. Senator Levin’s number is (202) 224-6221; Senator Stabenow’s is (202) 224-4822. After reaching out to them, please contact NLC at advocacy@nlc.org to let them know how the conversation went.

Here is some additional information from NLC about this issue:

Tell Your Senators: Support the Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act

Before Congress adjourned for its August recess, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act (MITFA), S. 2609. MITFA combines a major priority for NLC – leveling the playing field for online and brick-and-mortar retailers – with a temporary extension of the current moratorium on internet access taxes.

According to reports, the Senate may consider this legislation as early as September, so we need you to contact your Senators now to ask them to co-sponsor and support passage of MITFA.

With most Senators returning to their home states this month, and the potential for a vote on MITFA in September, now is the time to meet with your Senators. If your Senator is not already a co-sponsor of the legislation, contact them and urge them to co-sponsor and support passage of the legislation. If your Senator is already a sponsor, please call and thank them for their support.

Call or visit your Senators, and ask them to co-sponsor and support passage of MITFA. Let them know the legislation:

• Is good for local retailers and creates a level playing field. Main Street retailers currently operate at a 5-10 percent disadvantage because they are required to collect sales taxes while remote sellers are not.
• Is not a new tax. The Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act simply allows states and local governments to enforce existing sales tax laws. The bill does not create new taxes or increase existing ones.
• Is good for our residents and communities. By allowing local governments to collect an estimated $23 billion in uncollected sales taxes on remote sales that are already owed, cities can better provide services to residents at no cost to the federal government.
• Allows Congress the flexibility to respond to the changing communications services industry by recognizing the moratorium on Internet access taxes should not be made permanent in the midst of enormous technological changes.

Please, call your Senators now or schedule a meeting. Click here to tell us how the conversation went, or email advocacy@nlc.org.

For more information, contact Julia Pulidindi, Principal Associate for Federal Advocacy, at pulidindi@nlc.org or 202.626.3176, or Priya Ghosh, Principal Associate for Federal Advocacy, at ghosh@nlc.org or 202.626.3015.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.

The Michigan Strategic Fund through the Michigan Energy Office is offering grants for Michigan communities and Downtown Development Authorities that owns and operates its own public street lighting to upgrade their street lights with light emitting diode (LED) lights.

Grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 are available with a 100% match requirement. For more details, you can visit the MEDC public notice and RFP page for the LED Street Lighting Project website.

The full RFP including the details on how to apply can be found online as well. Applicant questions are due via email by August 25, 2014. In addition a Q&A form will be posted to the MEDC website by August 29. The deadline to submit proposals is September 15, 2014.

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

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary committee met and passed out SB 979 (Sen. Hildenbrand), a bill to include pneumatic guns (i.e. paint ball guns) in the list of pistols or other firearms that local units of government currently cannot tax, regulate ownership of, registration of, sale/transfer/possession and transportation of (PA 319 of 1990).

The legislation does allow a local unit to regulate the possession of a pneumatic gun in someone under the age of 16 unless it is their private property as well as allow a local unit to prohibit discharging of a pneumatic gun in heavily populated areas.

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.

The passage of Proposal 1 last week means personal property tax will being phasing out in 2016 (in addition to the small parcel exemption that went into effect this year.)  League members have had a lot of questions regarding the passage of the proposal.

One main question has been the amount of reimbursement for local units. The Department of Treasury has put together a reimbursement sheet to help members calculate reimbursement. It’s available here: ppt reimbursement worksheet

We also have an updated “one-pager plus” fact sheet on our website that includes answers to some frequently asked questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about the legislation as well.

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

Michigan voters continued to show their support for cities and villages on election day. There were nearly 40 tax-related requests on Tuesday’s primary election ballot from Michigan cities and villages and all but two were successful, according to a report by MIRS News Service.

This is consistent with other recent election results and the trend that people will overwhelming support tax increases for services they value, such as roads, libraries, senior services, police and fire protection and public transit, said Michigan Municipal League CEO and Executive Director Dan Gilmartin.

“These results show that voters will support tax increases for services they want and expect in making their communities desirable places to live, work, and enjoy,” Gilmartin said. “However, there is an underlying trend that is concerning: These results also show that the state’s system for funding municipalities is broken and that local communities and local taxpayers must continually counter the disinvestment in cities and villages that state leaders continue to demonstrate.”

Specifically, Gilmartin points to a League study from earlier this year that showed between 2003 and 2013 Michigan governors and legislators diverted $6.2 billion in statutory revenue sharing from local communities to plug holes in the state budget. This, along with a dramatic decline in property tax revenues, has forced communities cut and streamline local services and to look at alternative funding sources, including, but not limited to, millage increases.

Due to this disinvestment in local communities, it was not surprising to learn from MIRS that there were 786 local ballot proposals before voters on Tuesday and 267 of those proposals asked for new money. About 80 percent of the proposals MIRS classified as new tax increases passed, while 99 percent of all proposals classified as tax renewals passed. You can view the full MIRS list here.

A large majority of the requests were from townships, schools, and counties. There were about 38 tax-related requests on the ballot specific to Michigan cities and villages, plus at least four non-tax related charter amendments (all passed). Of those 38 requests, 36 passed and just two failed, according a League review of the MIRS report and in looking at other news articles about the unofficial election results.

Many of the new asks were road related and passed with nearly a 90 percent success rate. This is not surprising given the poor condition of Michigan’s roads and lack of consensus on a long-term road funding solution in Lansing. The Michigan Municipal League, in its Partnership for Place Agenda initiative, has suggested a variety of possible solutions to address the state’s transportation needs and other municipal funding concerns. You can view this agenda here.

“While voters have constantly shown support for local taxes that provide value and improve quality of life, there remains an underlying belief in Lansing that the citizens of Michigan will not support such efforts statewide,” Gilmartin said. “This election further proves that individuals care about their local communities and expanding investment in Michigan’s transportation network would be a great place for the Legislature to follow the lead of the constituents they represent.”

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.

In just one week voters will decide the fate of Proposal 1, which eliminates the personal property tax (PPT) on businesses without raising taxes to residents. But what happens if Proposal 1 fails?

A new community impact calculator by the Strong and Safe Communities YESon1 shows the potential losses communities could sustain if Proposal 1 is defeated and the Legislature decides to eliminate the personal property tax without any funding replacement for local municipalities. All you need to do is go to the calculator and follow the step by step instructions to see the impact on your community. For example, in Flint, if Proposal 1 fails and the PPT is eliminated without replacement that is the equivalent funding of 54 police officers, or 71 firefighters, or 464,746 meals on wheels for seniors.

Here are some details from the Strong and Safe Communities coalition about this:

A “NO” Vote on Proposal 1 and failure to pass Proposal 1 would hurt Michigan communities and Michigan small businesses. It would mean:

• Michigan communities lose by having to go back to depending on an unreliable revenue stream for essential services like fire, police, ambulances, jails, and schools – plus other valuable local community services, including senior centers, parks and libraries.
• Michigan businesses lose by having to go back to paying the antiquated unfair double tax that keeps them from investing and creating jobs.
• Many community leaders across the state fear that if Proposal 1 fails in August, the legislature could still eliminate the PPT, but not reimburse local communities for that lost revenue.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org.

Governor Snyder has signed SB 846 (Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R – Lowell), a bill that amends the Michigan liquor control code dealing with redevelopment liquor licenses and is identical to HB 4257 (Rep. Cindy Denby, R – Fowlerville) that passed the House late last year. It is now PA 270 of 2014.  

According to a recent determination by the Liquor Control Commission, only businesses in cities are eligible for redevelopment liquor licenses. This determination is counter to the last six years, where the Liquor Control Commission has allowed the redevelopment licenses in redevelopment districts to be for cities, villages, or townships. This bill is an attempt to rectify this issue and clarifies eligibility for the redevelopment liquor licenses in the development districts to cities, villages, and townships. We have heard from multiple villages worried about this because their redevelopment efforts are coming to a halt without being eligible for these redevelopment licenses.

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. 

This afternoon the Senate Government Operations committee passed House Bill 4271, a bill that would allow local units of government to regulate (or ban) provisioning centers (i.e. dispensaries), and HB 5104, a bill to allow for medical marijuana infused products.  There has been some discussion on HB 4271 regarding removing the local control aspect of it but that remained intact as it passed committee today.

Majority Leader Richardville (chair of the committee) stated there is still work to be done on the legislation before a vote on the Senate floor takes place but he wanted to send the message the Senate is interested in moving the process forward.

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

Applications are now live for the new crowdfunding place-based grant program! The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the League have teamed up with Patronicity, a locally-based crowdfunding platform, to develop Public Spaces Community Places, a new matching grant program for place-based initiatives that utilize crowdfnding. Through Patronicity, communities and non-profits can raise donations to revitalize or create public spaces, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation will match funds raised dollar for dollar, up to $100,000, if they can reach their goal. Crowdfunding is an easy and innovative way for community projects to gain public interest and raise money by being able to leverage donations of all sizes.

This is the first program of its kind in the country, where local residents can be part of the development of transformational projects in their communities and be backed with matching dollars by the State. The grant program is available to municipalities and non-profits for projects that focus on activation of public spaces such as an outdoor plaza or park enhancements, alley activation, etc.

You can find the application guide on CrowdfundingMI.com. For the online application, click here.

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