Crowdfunding Moves Further, Passes Senate Committee

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HB 4996, the crowdfunding legislation, is one step further in becoming law after the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions committee unanimously passed it out today!  It now moves to the Senate floor for full passage.  We are one step closer to assisting a segment of our economy that will prove to be huge economic drivers, those new small businesses and those wishing to expand.

HB 4996, a creative approach to economic development, will allow the sales of securities to an unlimited number of non-accredited investors, provided the issuer registers with the State of Michigan.  Any Michiganders who do not fit the federal definition of an accredited investor are given the opportunity to support their local entrepreneurs, existing small businesses, and real estate investments.

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.

House Considers Legislation Decreasing Interest on County Chargebacks

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Earlier this week the House Local Government Committee reported on HB 5074, a bill that would change the monthly interest rate that a county treasurer can charge other taxable units in the county that have delinquent property taxes due. The current monthly rate of interest is one percent. Under the bill, the monthly rate of interest would be “up to” one percent.
Under Michigan’s tax reversion process, county treasurers can assess “chargebacks” under the protocol they follow when local units of government have borrowed from a county’s delinquent tax revolving fund. If summer and winter property taxes are not collected by March 1 of the following year that the tax is owed, local treasurers pass on notices of unpaid or delinquent taxes to county treasurers. In many counties, the county treasurer runs a delinquent tax revolving fund.
Upon receiving the notices of unpaid taxes, the county treasurer advances funds to those
local governments that are owed taxes, making them financially whole at that time with
the understanding that local treasurers will pay back the advance, either after the taxes in
arrears are paid by the property owners, or after the property is sold at a public auction.
Under state statute, county treasurers charge a monthly interest rate of 1 percent for advancing the money to make the local unit of government whole.  This legislation would give the county discretion to charge “up to” one percent.
The legislation 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

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Earlier this week the House Local Government Committee reported on HB 5074, a bill that would change the monthly interest rate that a county treasurer can charge other taxable units in the county that have delinquent property taxes due. The current monthly rate of interest is one percent. Under the bill, the monthly rate of interest would be “up to” one percent.
Under Michigan’s tax reversion process, county treasurers can assess “chargebacks” under the protocol they follow when local units of government have borrowed from a county’s delinquent tax revolving fund. If summer and winter property taxes are not collected by March 1 of the following year that the tax is owed, local treasurers pass on notices of unpaid or delinquent taxes to county treasurers. In many counties, the county treasurer runs a delinquent tax revolving fund.
Upon receiving the notices of unpaid taxes, the county treasurer advances funds to those
local governments that are owed taxes, making them financially whole at that time with
the understanding that local treasurers will pay back the advance, either after the taxes in
arrears are paid by the property owners, or after the property is sold at a public auction.
Under state statute, county treasurers charge a monthly interest rate of 1 percent for advancing the money to make the local unit of government whole.  This legislation would give the county discretion to charge “up to” one percent.
The legislation 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 Bill to Tweak PRE for Seniors in Assisted Living

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Earlier this week the House Tax Policy Committee passed House Bill 4810, a bill that tweaks the principal residence exemption (PRE) for certain seniors in assisted living.
Public Act 324 of 2012 amended the General Property Tax Act to allow a person who previously occupied a property as a principal residence but now resides in a nursing home or an assisted living facility to retain the exemption on property previously exempt as the principal residence if the owner “manifests an intent to return to that property” by satisfying all of the following conditions: (1) the owner continues to own the property while residing in the nursing home or assisted living facility; (2) the owner has not established a new principal residence; (3) the owner maintains or provides for the maintenance of the property; and (4) the property is not occupied, is not for sale, is not leased, and is not used for any business or commercial purpose.
House Bill 4810 would amend this provision to delete the requirement that the property not be for sale. The amendment would be retroactive and effective for taxes levied after December 31, 2012.
The bill is on the House floor awaiting approval from 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 to Prohibit Interest During PRE Appeal

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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

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Earlier this week the Senate Energy and Technology Committee reported Senate Bill 636, a bill that would give phone companies the ability to transition from traditional land lines to internet-based service beginning January 1, 2017.
The bill would amend the Michigan Telecommunications Act to do make a number of changes including eliminating a requirement for a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) proceeding for a telecommunication provider to discontinue basic local exchange or toll service to an exchange, beginning January 1, 2017. It would also require a provider wishing to discontinue service to notify the MPSC, the provider’s customers, any interconnecting providers, and the public at the same time as filing a petition for discontinuance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The bill would further require a provider to notify the same parties again upon the FCC’s approval, at least 90 days before discontinuing service. It would also allow the MPSC to issue an order allowing the current provider to provide the service until another willing provider was available, if the MPSC determined that another provider was not capable of providing the 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

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Earlier this week the House Local Government Committee reported HB 5102, a bill that would eliminate the requirement that county treasurers make a printed copy of the tax rolls available for inspection, if the tax roll is maintained on a computerized database.
Now under the law, the State Tax Commission must authorize the use of a computerized
data base system as the tax roll if the local tax collecting unit or the county treasurer
demonstrates that the proposed system has the capacity to enable compliance with nine state requirements. House Bill 5102 would eliminate in their entirety the four requirements for printed copies to be available of (1) the “original pre-collection tax roll,” (2) a separate printout of “all parcel splits and combinations,” (3) a separate computer printout of all corrections and adjustments to the pre-collection tax roll authorized the by the board of review,” and (4) the requirement to make available “a posted computer printed tax roll.”

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

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Earlier this week the House Local Government Committee reported HB 5074, a bill that would change the monthly interest rate that a county treasurer can charge other taxable units in the county that have delinquent property taxes due. The current monthly rate of interest is one percent. Under the bill, the monthly rate of interest would be “up to” one percent.
Under Michigan’s tax reversion process, county treasurers can assess “chargebacks” under the protocol they follow when local units of government have borrowed from a county’s delinquent tax revolving fund. If summer and winter property taxes are not collected by March 1 of the following year that the tax is owed, local treasurers pass on notices of unpaid or delinquent taxes to county treasurers. In many counties, the county treasurer runs a delinquent tax revolving fund.
Upon receiving the notices of unpaid taxes, the county treasurer advances funds to those
local governments that are owed taxes, making them financially whole at that time with
the understanding that local treasurers will pay back the advance, either after the taxes in
arrears are paid by the property owners, or after the property is sold at a public auction.
Under state statute, county treasurers charge a monthly interest rate of 1 percent for advancing the money to make the local unit of government whole.  This legislation would give the county discretion to charge “up to” one percent.
This legislation 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

Report Shows More Biking, Public Transit Use In Three Michigan Cities

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 A first-of-its-kind report by PIRGIM Education Fund shows reduced rates of car commuting in Michigan’s urbanized areas—including Grand Rapids, Detroit and Flint—and greater use of public transit and biking, especially in Grand Rapids.

The report, “Transportation in Transition: A Look at Changing Travel Patterns in America’s Biggest Cities,” is based on the most current available government data. It is the first ever national study to compare transportation trends for America’s largest cities. Among its findings:                                                       

·         The proportion of workers commuting by private vehicle—either alone or in a carpool—declined in 99 out of 100 of America’s most populous urbanized areas between 2000 and the 2007-2011 period.

·         The percent of workers commuting by private vehicle in the Grand Rapids urbanized area fell almost 2 percent between 2000 and the 2007 to 2011 period—the 39th largest reduction out of the 100 largest urbanized areas in the U.S.

·         Detroit saw a 0.1% increase in workers who biked to work during the same period of time, ranking 59th out of the 100 urbanized areas studied in the report.

·         The number of passenger miles travelled on transit per capita increased 12.5 percent in Detroit between 2005 and 2010. In Grand Rapids, transit passenger miles per person increased by over 50%—the 7th largest percentage increase among the 100 largest urban areas in that category. Measured in terms of the number of trips taken on public transit per-capita, Grand Rapids witnessed a 51.2 percent increase from 2005 to 2010. Flint ranked 10th in increased passenger trips per-capita out of the 100 areas studied, with a 31.1 percent increase between 2005 and 2010.

·         The proportion of commuters travelling by bicycle grew in Flint, Detroit, and Grand Rapids between 2000 and 2010, as it did in 82 of the other 100 most populous urbanized areas.

·         The proportion of households without a car increased 2.9 percent in the Grand Rapids urbanized area between 2006 and 2011. This proportion fell in 84 of the largest 100 urbanized areas. Likewise, the proportion of households with two or more vehicles fell in 86 out the 100 most populous urbanized areas during this period, including Flint, where it fell 3.8 percent.

·         The proportion of residents working out of their home increased in all 100 of America’s most populous urbanized areas between 2000 and 2010, including in Grand Rapids, which had the 35th steepest increase among that group.

The study found that cities with the largest decreases in driving were not those hit hardest by the recession. On the contrary, the economies of urbanized areas with the largest declines in driving appear to have been less affected by the recession according to unemployment, income and poverty indicators. 

Across the nation, young people have shown the steepest reductions in driving. Americans 16 to 34 years of age reduced their average driving miles by 23 percent between 2001 and 2009.

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.

 

League President Jacqueline Noonan Issues Media Statement on Detroit Bankruptcy Court Ruling

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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.