In one of the strangest lame ducks in recent memory, and maybe ever, the Senate and House appear to be done for the year. The last few weeks were filled with ups and downs, and the type of drama meant for a Hollywood script. This resulted in several big issues being left on the table and not passing before the bang of the final gavel.

From the League’s perspective, we were still able to get a big win in all of the chaos, and held off a dozen issues we opposed. We were able to negotiate a better outcome on one bill to mitigate its harmful impacts, but unfortunately, we also had some of our biggest priorities fall short because of the disorder as the legislative session ended.

Our biggest victory of lame duck was the passage of the Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) program. Major items we were able to defeat included legislation that would have required minimum staffing be a mandatory subject of collective bargaining, and housing bills that eroded local control.

Our top priority of establishing the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund died in the Senate, and the Short-Term Rental Regulation Act that would have maintained our right to regulate short-term rentals and institute a 6% excise tax on all short-term rentals died in the House.

The biggest item of concern was the passage of House Bill 6058. This legislation modifies the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act (PA 152). While we were able to hold off a full repeal and maintain the opt-out provision, there were modifications made to the hard cap and a flipping of the 80/20 cost share from a ceiling to a floor that are problematic for our members. We will be asking the governor to veto this legislation.

The inaction on items such as economic development, road funding, and changes to minimum wage and paid leave laws set to take effect in February are likely going to be the first items discussed when the next legislature takes office in January.

We would be remiss to not point out one other major success: the engagement from our membership. We called upon you several times over the last few weeks, and every time you answered. Your constant engagement on key legislative issues is the number one reason for our success and we thank you for that. You proved once again that local voices matter!

Here is a recap of the legislative issues from lame duck.

Big Win Opens Door for Millions in Federal Funding for Michigan Communities!

• Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) Program: HB 5695
  • HB 5695 will authorize Michigan’s participation in the federal Ground Emergency Medical Transportation Program. This is a voluntary opt-in supplemental reimbursement program administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for eligible ground emergency medical transportation providers. The amount of supplemental reimbursement to an eligible provider will be equal to the amount of federal financial participation received for the provider’s cost for the services, up to 100% of the actual cost incurred.
  • This legislation will bring tens of millions of federal dollars into Michigan that we have been missing out on and help improve our public safety services.

Protecting Local Control, Resources, and Our Ability to Govern: We opposed all the following bills and were able to successfully prevent them from passing.

• Minimum staffing: HB 4688 and SB 1167
  • This legislation would have required minimum staffing levels to be a mandatory subject of collective bargaining between the public employer and the representative of its police and fire department employees. Minimum staffing levels would also be subject to arbitration for labor disputes involving public police and fire departments.
• Housing: House Bills 6095, 6096, 6097, and 6098
  • House Bills 6095, 6096, 6097 and 6098 were being touted as helping to end Michigan’s housing crisis and needed housing reform at the local level. Supporters claim municipalities are stopping the state from creating enough options to house Michiganders, are adding unnecessary costs to housing, and the only way to address this is removing local governing and inserting state mandates. The reality is that we’ve been working in partnership to proactively address our state’s housing crisis instead of taking the easy route of just copying other states’ actions (which have produced little to no results).
• Workers Compensation: House Bill 4729
  • This legislation expanded the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act by providing that a respiratory or heart disease can be designated as a compensable personal injury if the disease or illness develops while the individual is in active service as a result of the performance of their duties. It is presumed that the disease or illness can be attributed to employment. As introduced, the expansion would include part-time or on-call members of a police department of a municipality, as well as part-time, on-call, or volunteer members of a fire or public safety department of a municipality. The League testified that our concerns are attributed to the inability to identify the potential cost/risk increase associated with this, and offered an amendment that would link this expansion of coverage to the First Responder Presumed Coverage Fund.
• Water Affordability: Senate Bills 549-554, 980 and House Bills 5088-5092, 6228
  • These bills would have created the low-income water residential affordability program fund. Revenue for the fund would be generated by a $2 per month fee on retail water meter fee assessed on all residential water customers in the state. They also established a tiered statewide low-income residential water affordability program.
• Part 31: Senate Bill 663, House Bill 5205
  • This legislation would have removed a prohibition for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) from promulgating rules under Part 31 of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) Water Resources Protection that are not specifically authorized in statute. Cities perform an extensive number of currently exempt projects and apply for a significant number of permits for public works projects. Adding unchecked rule making authority could cost taxpayers significantly more due to the potential increase in price and delays of public works projects. Part 31 also includes sections that could dramatically impact communities in the MS4 program, potentially leading to unfunded mandates.
• Aggregates: House Bills 4526, 4527, 4528, 6108, 6109,6110, and 6111
  • This legislation would have stripped local control over the permitting of aggregate mines and undercut years of court precedent.
• Polluter Pay: Senate Bills 605 and 606
  • These bills would have created new standards for clean ups that could increase costs and liability, and potentially negatively impact brownfield developments.
• Video Franchise Fees: House Bill 4965
  • Exempted streaming services from the Video Services Act and specified that they are not required to pay franchise fees.
• Property Tax Exemptions for Seniors: House Bill 4330
  • Provided local municipalities the option to exempt property taxes for anyone over the age of 65.
• Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: House Bill 4708
  • Exempted electric vehicle charging stations from paying Personal Property Tax.
• Continuing Care: House Bill 5380
  • Exempted continuing care facilities from paying property taxes.
• Postmark Property Taxes: House Bill 5797
  • Required all cities, villages, and townships to accept the postmark as the date of receipt for property tax payments.

Priorities That Did Not Pass: These bills did not make it across the finish line, but they will continue to be a top priority moving forward.

• Revenue Sharing Trust Fund: House Bills 4274 and 4275
  • Established the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund and dedicated 8.7% of the 4% sales tax to the fund. This would have protected and secured resources for local government.
• Short-Term Rentals: House Bill: House Bill 5438
  • House Bill 5438 would have created the Short-Term Rental Regulation Act. The bill maintained a local unit of government’s right to regulate STRs. It established a statewide registry of STR properties to assist in the administration and enforcement of the act. It also created a 6% STR excise tax to assist municipalities with the public costs of tourism.
• Public Safety Trust Fund: House Bills 4605 and 4606
  • Established the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund and dedicated $75 million on an annual basis to the fund.
  • As a result of this legislation not passing, the $75 million in the current state budget cannot be dispersed.
• Stormwater Utilities: Senate Bill 660
  • This bill would have created the “Stormwater Management Utility Act” as guidance for local units of government should they utilize their existing authority to establish a stormwater management utility. It codified a formal approach to planning, funding, and managing stormwater infrastructure in the event the local unit of government decides to set up a stormwater management utility.
• Oath of Office: House Bills 5699, 5700, 5701, 5702
  • These bills would have addressed a conflict between state law and some municipal charters because of Proposal 2 of 2022 implementation. Together, the bills would have required township and village officials to begin their terms of office on December 1, and city officials to begin their terms on the first day of the month after their election beginning in 2025. The legislation also provided that an individual elected to fill a vacancy as a result of a special election could not take office until the election is certified by the appropriate board of canvassers.
• Modernizing the Recreation Passport: House Bills 5428 and 5973
  • Recreation Passport Opt-Out (HB 5428): Moving to an opt-out model would have supported our state and local parks while still maintaining an individual’s right to choose. This was expected to increase the number of participants, which in turn, would have increased revenue for much-needed improvements and maintenance.
  • Recreation Passport Formula Change (HB 5873): The formula change would have increased the percentage of Recreation Passport revenue allocated to local park grants from 10% to 20%, once 55% of Michiganders are participating in the Recreation Passport program. It would have increased the funding available to local parks and recreation, providing opportunities for many local communities who have been unsuccessful in receiving grants in the past.

Mitigated the Impact on Local Government: We opposed this bill, but were able to secure changes that diminished the impact on local government.

• Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act (PA 152): House Bill 6058
  • House Bill 6058 increases the amount that public employers will pay toward employees’ medical benefit plans. Currently, public employers can choose between an inflation-adjusted capped contribution (hard cap) or a maximum 80% contribution. The proposed legislation would do away with this ceiling and replace it with increased contribution amounts that become the floor for healthcare costs. This would make it nearly impossible to manage on a year-over-year basis.
  • MML and other local government organizations have proposed amendments to HB 6058, as well as to Senate versions, addressing PA 152 changes that would make this legislation more manageable for municipalities. This includes returning to a ceiling for the hard cap and the maximum contribution rate, but increasing the hard cap and using a more sustainable inflationary factor.
  • We were able to avoid a complete repeal of this act, make some needed changes to the hard cap, and keep the opt-out provision in the law.

Other Issues of Note that Did Not Pass:

• Increased flexibility for the Housing and Community Development Fund: Senate Bill 293
  • The League supported this legislation
• Michigan Voting Rights Act: Senate Bills 401-404
  • The League was neutral on these bills
• Changes to the Land Division Act: Senate Bill 480
  • The League was neutral on these bills
• Statewide Septic Code: Senate Bills 299 and 300
  • The League was neutral on these bills

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.