Inside 208

In a call with the League today, an official from the White House confirmed that the federal government will be reducing their committed payments on interest of the Build America Bonds. They are expecting the reductions to be about 9% below their original committment. These would apply across the board [...]

Late yesterday afternoon the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the general government budget including the 4.8% increase as recommended by the subcommittee. The Senate budget does NOT include the language we oppose in the House budget with penalties for settling contracts before right to work went into effect and additional posting [...]

Yesterday the House Local Government Committee continued a discussion regarding online legal notices. Last week the committee heard testimony from various groups including the League. For several years the League has been trying to pass legislation that would allow communities to publish legal notices online. The committee took up several [...]

Yesterday morning the House Tourism Committee considered HB 4335, a bill that would allow dogs on restaurant patios. The legislation also allows a local unit of goverment to pass more stringent ordinances. Vibrant communities across the country allow dogs on patios outside of restaurants. This bill allows local control while [...]

In some great news for local communities, the US Senate is posed to take a vote on the Marketplace fairness bill as early as next week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made the motion to start the process of moving the bill to the Senate calendar, bypassing the committee [...]

Last week at the League’s Capital Conference our members expressed significant frustration with EVIP. During the Q&A following Governor Snyder’s speech he indicated that he wanted to hear from us regarding our concerns with the program. This afternoon we sent this letter to the Governor expressing various concerns with the [...]

Bills that would prohibit TIF districts from capturing tax revenue off the Detroit Zoo and DIA millages passed out of the House Tax Policy Committee unanimously today.  HB 4458-4464 prohibit a TIF district from keeping tax increment revenues from ad valorem property taxes levied under the Zoological Authorities Act and [...]

The tax capture off of Detroit Zoo and DIA millage by TIF districts have made some legislators on both sides of the aisle want to look at tax capture by TIF districts on a broader scale.  The chair of the House Tax Policy committee, Rep. Jeff Farrington (R-Utica) has stated the possibility [...]

This morning the House Criminal Justice Committee considered House Bills 4455 and 4456, bills that create limitations and reporting requirements for the use of unmanned drones by law enforcement agencies. Drones have become an innovative option for law enforcement as communities look to cut costs. The League opposed the legislation [...]

This week and next are busy times for the budget. As we mentioend earlier this week both the House and Senate have different versions of the General Government budget. We encourage you to contact your legislators and have drafted talking points to use when having those conversations. You can find [...]