EVIP Eliminated in Final Revenue Sharing Budget for Michigan Communities!

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Lansing-capitol-small-for-web-winterThis evening the Michigan General Government Budget Conference Report was signed. The Michigan Municipal League was successful in its efforts to eliminate most of the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP) requirements that have been burdensome to communities for the last several years. The category 1 requirements still remain as far as dashboards, citizen guides, etc, but the other criteria for category 2 and 3 have been eliminated entirely.

A huge thank you to Senator John Pappageorge (R-Troy) who has been the champion in eliminating EVIP this entire year. Sen. Pappageorge has requested that we no longer use the term “EVIP” and eliminate it entirely from our vocabularies. I think many of our members will happily comply.

Many of our communities contacted their legislators expressing concerns with EVIP, and a number of you testified before the legislature (View photos of that here). Thank you for your critical advocacy on this issue. They clearly heard us, and the pressure worked!

Sen. Pappageorge

Sen. Pappageorge

The conference report included an increase of $13 million to revenue sharing. Of that amount, $7.2 million (or 3 percent) would be distributed through the existing revenue sharing formula for cities, villages and townships who are currently eligible for statutory revenue sharing.

An additional $5.8 million of one-time funding is included and distributed to cities, villages and townships. The payment will be distributed by providing the greater of a 3 percent increase over the Fiscal Year 2013-14 revenue sharing payment or per capita of $2.65 for a local unit with a population of 7,500 or more. Communities with a population of less than 7,500 will receive a 3 percent increase over a FY2013-14 payment.

The budget also includes an additional $8 million to help financially distressed cities, villages and townships. The funding will be distributed by the Department of Treasury in a grant program.

Constitutional revenue sharing is also up by 2.4 percent.

You can view the amount your community will receive in revenue sharing here: revshare conf table

The conference report now goes to the House and Senate chambers for approval, but it may not be amended. We expect it will be presented to the Governor as early as the end of this week.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the League handling municipal finance issues.  She can be reached at sharkins@mml.org or 517-908-0306.

Bills to Allow LDFAs and CIAs to Terminate Membership on Board with Official’s Public Office Term Passe Senate

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SB 739 and 740 (Sen. Virgil Smith, D- Detroit) passed the Senate last week. These bills would amend the Local Development and Financing Act (LDFA) and the Corridor Improvement Authority(CIA) Act to allow an LDFA or CIA to adopt a rule linking an appointment of a public official to that board to the expiration of that official’s service as a public official, including a resignation or removal from office.  This is permissive.  These bills now move onto the House Commerce Committee and are similar to a pair of bills dealing with Economic Development Corporations and Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities.

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.

Prorated Liquor License Bill Passes House

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The House of Representatives passed HB 4573 this week.  As introduced, it would prorate liquor license fees for first-year licensees that are granted a license for less than a full year (prorated quarterly).  During a committee hearing last week, there was a substitute adopted and passed out of committeechanging the bill to make it an annual renewal of liquor licenses (instead of all happening at the same time each year), whether bought or transferred instead of a proration.  On the House floor last week, the bill was amended back to its original intent with a slight change of a quarterly proration if the business will have the license for less than 9 months out of the year (instead of a full year as originally introduced). The bill passed with bipartisan support and now moves onto the Senate.

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.

Transportation Funding Hitting Road Blocks in the Senate

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The package of bills sent over by the House has hit a road block in the Senate. Democrats are arguing for protection of prevailing wage, the current electoral college system, and the need to provide tax relief for the working poor by reinstating the cuts made in 2011 to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Republican are not united in their approach as some members of their caucus want to raise the gas tax, other want to raise the sales tax, and still other want no new taxes. As this debate plays out some progress was made this week but much more needs to be done if comprehensive solution is going to be realized.

Talks are ongoing among legislative leaders. The League remains hopeful that the legislature will respond to the public outcry to fix Michigan transportation networks and act on the bills before them. We encourage you to reach out to the Senator and Representative from your area and encourage them to vote for a sustainable solution that will return Michigan to a state with strong infrastructure, reliable transit options, and thriving communities.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Transportation Budget Passes Conference Committee

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The transportation budget passed out of conference committee this week and did not include new revenue for transportation funding that reflects a comprehensive solution. SB 777 did include $144.5 million in one-time general fund money that would be distributed to MDOT, Counties, and cities and villages. Of the $144.5 million cities and villages will receive $31.5 million in additional funding for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2014. SB 777 also included $1.1 million for the Regional Transit Authority.

A significant amount of work continues to take place around finding a larger solution and the League remains hopeful the legislature will act before they leave for summer break.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

House Local Government Committee Votes Out Legislation Allowing Golf Carts on Local Roads

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This week House Local Government Committee voted out HB 5045 that would allow a local unit of government to pass an ordinance that would allow golf carts on roads under their jurisdiction. The following requirements must be met.

  • Must have a population less that 30,000
  • The operator must be at least 16 years of age and have a valid drivers license
  • The golf cart must be operated on the far right side of the roadway
  • You can only operate the golf cart between a half hour after sunrise and a half hour before sunset
  • Drivers must use hand signals to indicate turning and stopping
  • The golf cart cannot exceed 15 mph and can not operate on a road with a speed limit of more than 30 mph

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Senate Committee Passes Michigan Investment Market Legislation

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HB 5273, a bill dealing with Michigan investment markets, unanimously passed out of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions committee this afternoon.  HB 5273 would give businesses and residents in Michigan the ability to become broker-dealers to create a market (online or in person) through which intrastate stocks can be listed, bought, sold and resold. Those interested in purchasing stock from local companies would have easy access to the listings of all the companies on the exchange and show these potential investors that there is indeed a market for what they may be purchasing.  Exchanges must apply and be registered with the state as well as follow rules of operation laid out in the legislation which will provide security for all those participating, both the businesses and the investors.

This is the next progression from the MILE/crowdfunding legislation that was passed earlier this year and we are thankful to Rep. Jenkins for working so diligently to help small businesses in our local communities grow and prosper.

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. 

Please Write Letters to Your Local Newspaper in Support of Proposal 1, Personal Property Tax Reform

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ppt-logo-2-dearbornThe letter writing phase of the Vote Yes on Proposal 1 campaign is now in full swing and the Michigan Municipal League has made it as easy as possible for you to send letters to the editor of your local newspapers. We’ve written four sample letters for you to choose from here in our Action Center. Just fill out the information and the Action Center will do the rest, including emailing the letter to your local paper.

Background: The League encourages Michigan communities to support Proposal 1 on the August 5, 2014 ballot. This is the proposal that completes the reform of the Personal Property Tax (PPT) and represents months of negotiations and work by the League on behalf of our member communities. This proposal does NOT RAISE TAXES, but it does provide a more stable revenue source for community services, such as police and fire protection, roads, schools, libraries and other essential programs.

The League, as part of the Michigan Strong & Safe Communities coalition, encourages all member communities to join us in endorsing this proposal. In addition to writing letters, please do these things:

1. Have your council/commission/board pass a resolution in support of Proposal 1. A sample resolution is available here. Check out the other communities that have already passed resolutions here. (It’s important to note that it is legal for local government bodies to approve resolutions in support of ballot issues as long as no public tax dollars are expended. So resolutions are OK.) Send your approved resolutions to the League’s Matt Bach at mml.org and will share them with the media and the coalition.

2. Sign up to receive campaign email alerts at www.StrongAndSafeCommunities.com.

Again, we encourage our members to support the full replacement of PPT dollars with a significantly more stable reimbursement mechanism by voting “yes” on Proposal 1 on the August 5, 2014 ballot. If you have any questions about this ballot proposal please contact the League’s Samantha Harkins at sharkins@mml.org and (517) 908-0306.

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

Senate Passes Repeal of Annual Certification to MDOT

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In December of 2012 Public Act 506 was enacted that required local road agencies to certify the the Michigan Department of Transportation that the had developed and publicized an employee compensation plan or were in compliance with with PA 152 of 2011. The law requires a local road agency to maintain a searchable website accessible by the public at no cost that includes the following: a) current fiscal year budget, b) the number of active transportation employees of the local road agency by job classification and wage rate, c) information on financial performance, d) the names and contact information for the governing body of the local road agency, and e) a copy of the certification mentioned above. Compliance with these provisions needs to take place no later than September 30, 2014.

The League has advocated that certifying to MDOT that we are in compliance with PA 152, which by law we are required to be in compliance with, is redundant, unnecessary, and an inefficient use of time. We have also advocated that the creation of another dashboard is unnecessary because of the public access to our current EVIP dashboards, F65 Forms, audits, and our comprehensive annual financial reports.

As a result Senator Casperson introduced SB 882 that would repeal the provisions section 18j for cities and villages. This bill was take up before the full Senate today and vote out with nearly unanimous support. This bill now moves to the House where we are hopeful that progress will continue to be made and these unnecessary requirements will be repealed before the implementation date of September 30, 2014.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Bill Extending Bonding Sunset for AA Rated Communities Passes Senate Committee

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Senate Bill 922, a bill to extend the December 31, 2014 sunset for bonding for communities with a AA credit rating switching from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, passed out of the Senate Finance committee today.  The introduced version would extend the sunset to December 31, 2016 but an amendment was added in committee today changing that to December 31, 2015.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the League handling municipal finance issues.  She can be reached at sharkins@mml.org or 517-908-0306.