Chris Hackbarth, Jennifer Rigterink, and John LaMacchia
At Capital Conference’s opening General Session, the League’s legislative team shared insights on current and upcoming issues they’re addressing on behalf of our members.
November’s election is a topic on everyone’s mind. So many seats are up for election that there are bound to be many changes, making the lame duck session especially interesting. There are also quite a few potential ballot issues to keep an eye on, particularly part-time legislators, recreational marijuana, and prevailing wage.
On the environmental side, Gov. Snyder has been placing big emphasis on recycling. Michigan’s recycling rate is only about 15 percent, compared to a 30 percent rate in many other states. Snyder has proposed a new tipping fee to make us more competitive. The question is how legislators will respond to the increased tipping fee. Revisions to the lead and copper rule are also underway. DEQ assembled a Stakeholder Workgroup to assist in the revision process, and the League has been involved in providing the group with numerous pages of public comment.
OPEB and pension reform efforts has been a major focus of the legislative team’s efforts. The League’s Anthony Minghine participated in a state task force on this issue, and their report contained recommendations that were far weaker than we had hoped for. We ended up with PA 202, which set up a reporting structure to identify which communities have OPEB funding problems and setting up corrective actions.
Revenue sharing cuts continue to be of great concern. It’s imperative that our members regularly contact their legislators to keep this issue top of mind.
Funding district courts and TIF structure and reporting are other issues which have seen action. A law passed in 2013 charged local units of government with putting together funding plans, and the state was supposed to provide the money to fund the plans. It’s possible that funding responsibility may come back to local governments. All types of TIF authorities are being affected by the recently signed PA 57. It’s designed to streamline administration of TIF authorities, create more transparency, and provide enforcement and penalties to the reporting requirement. Groups that want to do do away with these authorities still want change and plan to continue fighting for it.
The legislative team also covered federal tax reform, small cells, dark stores, state historic tax credit, and short-term rental zoning.
To view the legislative team’s complete presentation, click here.