July 2, 2008

State Affairs Report

Revenue Sharing Budget Bill Stalled over Non-Related Details – HB 5816 (Cheeks, D-Detroit), the General Government bill which provides a 2-percent statutory revenue sharing increase, did not pass the Legislature during last Friday's late night session. There seemed to be a disagreement over a non-related issue in the bill which stalled the process. Legislators are expected to pass budgets that were not completed last week when they return from their two week break. Contact: Summer Minnick

Streaming Audio: Lawmakers Share Initial Reactions to Revenue Sharing Increase – The League interviewed several lawmakers, all former local officials, shortly after the revenue sharing increased passed late Friday so you could hear their initial reactions; click here for thoughts from Reps. Joan Bauer (D-Lansing), Paul Opsommer (R-Dewitt), Robert Jones (D-Kalamazoo) and Sen. Glenn Anderson (D-Westland).

Senate Passes Energy Package – Friday, the Senate passed HB 5524 (Accavitti, D-Eastpointe) and SB 213 (Birkholz, R-Saugatuck). HB 5524 amends PA 141 to create a 10-percent cap on Michigan’s electric choice market and de-skew rates, among other things and SB 213 creates a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The governor recommended and the House passed a RPS of 10 percent by 2015, but the Senate passed a RPS of 7 percent by 2015. SB 213 also pre-empts local zoning for wind siting. The bill states that a siting certificate for a wind farm takes precedence over a conflicting local ordinance, law, rule, regulation, policy or practice. Contact your legislator today and ask them to oppose the provisions of the bill that take away local control. Contact: Samantha Jones

Downtown Bills Pass Legislature – Several bills in the downtown package were sent to the governor last week. The bills give new tools to downtown development authorities to: create low-interest loans and business incubators, allow neighborhood enterprise zones to be used by parcel and for rentals and hotels, re-create the Commercial Redevelopment Act to allow abatements in traditional downtowns, and create priority for urban recreation trails and allow personal property tax abatements in traditional downtowns. The League thanks Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) for his leadership on these bills and House Democratic leadership for moving them through the process before the summer recess. The bills now await the governor’s signature. Contact: Andy Schor

MAM Summer Workshop: Register Now to Save! – Mayors and village presidents are reminded that the early-bird registration deadline for the MAM Summer Workshop (August 6-8, 2008) is July 9. Open to members and non-members, the workshop is co-hosted by the cities of Sterling Heights and Utica and features a fantastic lineup of speakers and sessions to help chief elected officials and their communities address legacy costs. Download the registration form today! Contact: Nikole Brown

Additional LEIN Funding Removed from State Police Budget – The State Police Budget’s conference report was adopted by both chambers last week without additional Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) funding. The House recommended an additional $1 million, and the Senate recommended an additional $700,000 to fund the LEIN. The final version of the bill removed all of the additional funding. Contact: Samantha Jones

House Passes Bill Expanding PA 312 to County Corrections Officers – Last week the House passed HB 6112 (Miller, D-Mt. Clemens) which would create a new act to extend binding arbitration to county corrections officers. This bill would have significant costs for local units of government and taxpayers. The bill does not directly open up PA 312 but it would create a new set of comparables for communities and increase costs as a result. Contact your Senator and ask for opposition to this bill. Contact: Samantha Jones

DLEG Budget Passes with Flat Funding for Fire Protection Grants – The Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) budget went to the governor’s desk last week with flat funding for fire protection grants. The House recommended an additional $1 million for fire protection grants but the Senate removed the House’s recommended increase. The final version of the budget concurred with the Senate recommendation; funding for fire protection grants will remain the same as the current year at $10,910,500. Contact: Samantha Jones

Urban Grocery Stores Incentive – The Legislature passed SB 294 (Jansen, R-Cutlerville) which allows grocery stores and delicatessens to receive Commercial Rehabilitation Act abatements for urban and rural underserved areas. The Act allows abatements in downtowns and any area that is three acres or more. This legislation will exempt grocery stores and delicatessens from those limitations. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature. Contact: Andy Schor

Historic Preservation & Revitalization Credits – The Senate Commerce Committee last week passed SB 973 (Brown, D-Pigeon) which increases credits developers can claim against the Michigan Business Tax for historic preservation projects. The legislation provides assignability and refundability of credits, which are a priority to League communities and the developers revitalizing the historic components of those communities. The legislation also provides a sliding scale regarding recapture of credits and stackability of state and federal credits of 10 to 15 percent. The total credit to be issued is capped on a sliding scale but flexibility was also created in the bill for special big projects each year. Click here for a summary of the legislation as passed by the Senate. Contact: Andy Schor

Rental Property Inspections – SB 635 (Garcia, R-Howell), legislation dealing with rental property inspections, unanimously passed the Senate last week. This bill allows communities to accept Michigan State Housing Development Authority or Housing and Urban Development inspections as their own; gives communities more options for inspections and; requires communities to provide information on the fees assessed, costs incurred and number of units inspected upon requests (if these are not available the local could charge to produce them as long as they document the charges). The League indicated neutrality on the bill. Contact: Andy Schor

League Quick Poll: Millage Election – Is your community holding an August or November millage election? What for? – Please participate in a quick online survey to let us know!

Federal Update

Sixth Circuit Court Rules Against Local Governments – In December 2006, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order broadly preempting local government authority with respect to new entrants in the local video cable market. In April 2007, the National League of Cities (NLC) and other national local government organizations filed a petition with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and requested the order be reversed and declared void. Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request. While its impact on Michigan is still being determined, the NLC and other groups that petitioned the court are reviewing the court's decision and evaluating options. Contact: Arnold Weinfeld

Energy Block Grant Funding Needs Support – Last week, the House Appropriations Committee took action on the FY 2009 energy and water development appropriations bill, which provided an initial commitment of $295 million to support the startup of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. The Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee is scheduled to take action July 10. Please call Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and urge their support for the full $2 billion in funding for the Energy Block Grant program. Also, urge them to tell Sen. Byron Dorgan (ND), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, about the importance of funding for the EECBG program and that full funding will enable your community and those throughout Michigan to sustain the progress already made and to support even broader local action to secure energy savings. Contact: Arnold Weinfeld

The Buzz

Voters Should Decide Whether to Pay for More Cleanup
Kalamazoo Gazette, 6/26/08

Save the Date

Elected Officials Academy Core Weekender
July 18-19, Muskegon

PAAM Traffic Safety Training Program: Nuts & Bolts of OWI Arrests
July 29, Sterling Heights

PAAM Traffic Safety Training Program: Nuts & Bolts of OWI Prosecution
July 30, Sterling Heights

MAM Summer Workshop
August 6-8, Sterling Heights
Register by 7/09/08 to Save!

2008 Michigan Downtown Conference
Sept. 8-10, Bay City

MML Annual Convention
Oct. 1-4, Mackinac Island
Register by 9/12/08 to Save!

Grants & Projects

Community Energy Project Grants
Apply by July 15

MI Downtown Conference Call-for-Award Nominations
Apply by July 15

What's New

League Guest Blog
Daniel T. Kildee, Genesee County Treasurer

Future Surface Transportation Program Survey
Ends July 2

League Quick Poll: Millage Election

Long-Term Consequences: Why Attempts to Further Cap Property Taxes Would Cripple Michigan’s Future

NLC Federal Relations Report

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
What Cities Need to Know

Streaming Audio: Lawmakers Share Initial Reactions to Revenue Sharing Increase

Contact State and Federal Affairs Division - 517.908.0305
Arnold Weinfeld, aweinfeld@mml.org
Summer Minnick, sminnick@mml.org
David Worthams, dworthams@mml.org
Andy Schor, aschor@mml.org
Samantha Jones, sjones@mml.org
Andrea Messinger, amessinger@mml.org
Nikole Brown, nbrown@mml.org