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
Category Archives: Uncategorized
House Considers Legislation Decreasing Interest on County Chargebacks
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 Bill to Tweak PRE for Seniors in Assisted Living
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 to Prohibit Interest During PRE Appeal
This week the House Tax Policy Committee reported House Bill 4406, a bill that would amend the General Property Tax Act to provide that interest could not be charged when the Hearings Division of the Department of Treasury is considering an appeal for a denial of a principal residence exemption claim.
The Department of Treasury has the authority to conduct audits and deny a principal residence exemption claim if it deems it appropriate after the audit. Currently, during an appeal, interest accrues at a rate of 1.25 percent per month. This bill would prohibit that interest from being charged.
The bill now goes to the full House for approval.
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 Advances Bill to Transition Land Lines to Internet-Based Service
The legislation is now on the Senate Floor awaiting approval by the full chamber.
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
The bill now goes to the full House for approval.
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
League President Jacqueline Noonan Issues Media Statement on Detroit Bankruptcy Court Ruling
The Michigan Municipal League issued the following media statement regarding a U.S. Bankruptcy Court ruling Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, in the city of Detroit bankruptcy case. The statement was by Utica Mayor and Michigan Municipal League President Jacqueline Noonan:
“The ruling is a stark reminder and affirmation of the critical need for the Legislature, Gov. Snyder, and local elected officials to work together to develop a policy plan and vision for the future of Michigan’s cities, where the vast majority of jobs and economic, cultural and educational activity occurs in our state. It is a reminder of the need to fix the state’s broken municipal finance system, under which the Legislature and governor have taken about $6 billion in funds that, by state law, were supposed to go to local governments as statutory revenue sharing, including to the city of Detroit. The Legislature, instead, kept the money to pay for state programs and services, according to a report by the highly respected, nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
“It’s worth noting that during the last decade state spending increased 26 percent, while local governments throughout Michigan struggled to pay bills and meet other financial obligations, and had to shed nearly 17 percent of all local government workers. Instead of balancing the state budget on the backs of local governments for the last 10-plus years, we need state government to embrace and advance policies that enable local communities to better manage our programs and services and become the types of places that can prosper once again, where educated, entrepreneurial people want to live, work and raise families.
“To move Michigan forward, the League, along with numerous partners, have developed a policy vision and plan for Michigan’s cities called the Partnership for Place: An Agenda for a Competitive 21st Century Michigan. You can view this policy agenda here: www.mml.org/advocacy/partnership-for-place.html.”
This statement was picked up by the Associated Press and posted in news sites throughout the nation, including Anchorage Alaska, Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, Kansas City, and Detroit media outlets.
Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.
New Millage Election Limitation Bill Hearing Next Week
HB 4887, a bill limiting when new millages can be placed on local ballots, will likely see another committee hearing next week with the potential of being voted on as well. A big thank you to all of you who responded to the action alert and contacted your legislator and those on the Ethics and Elections Committee! Your participation is greatly appreciated.
HB 4887 (Rep. Dan Lauwers) is among a package of bills (including HB 5115-5116 dealing with schools sponsored by Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons) and would only allow local municipalities to place new millages on the ballot for the August regular election date or the November regular election date (straight renewals can be done at any of the four election dates). The argument of the bill sponsor is there is greater voter turnout in the August and November elections so new millages should only be allowed to be voted on during those times. The introduced version of the legislation only allowed a millage to be placed on the ballot for the November General Election but a substitute changing it to each August and November election was adopted.
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.
Congress Inching Closer to Self-Imposed Budget Deadline
Some optimism is coming out of Washington DC that House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) are making progress on talks to negotiate federal budget changes before their self-imposed December 13th deadline. If nothing changes, a new set of sequestration cuts to the tune of $91 billion will go into effect in early January 2014. As of right now there are no indications that eliminating the exemption on municipal bonds will be part of this budget/tax reform package being discussed. However, nothing is certain, so we will continue to monitor that issue closely.
Summer Minnick is the Director of Policy Initiatives and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org