Inside 208

Yesterday the Senate Government Operations Committee passed House Bills 5688 and 5705, bills that allow communities to create lighting authorities as an alternative and cost effective way to finance and operate a lighting system. The bills are permissive and are being championed by the City of Detroit as a cost...

Yesterday the Senate concurred on SB 1082, a bill that would more specific define what makes up synthetic drugs and bans those materials. Last session the legislature passed bills to ban synthetic drugs, but the manufacturers of these drugs began using different materials. This legislation is drafted more broadly to...

Last week the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee reported SB 1167, a bill that proscribes a procedure for disincorporation of home rule villages. Many home rule villages have disincorporation procedures in their charters, and the League wants to preserve local control. The sponsor would like a uniform process for...

Last week the House passed House Bills 5688 and 5705, bills that allow communities to create lighting authorities as an alternative and cost effective way to finance and operate a lighting system. The bills are permissive and are being championed by the City of Detroit as a cost saving measure...

Last Thursday the House passed House Bills 5566-5570, a package that amends the Emergency Municipal Loan Act to include school districts and amend the criteria for qualifying. The current statute does not allow school districts to qualify for emergency loans. The legislation allows school districts to qualify. In addition it...

Rochester City Manager Jaymes Vettraino and Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Cuthbertson testify June 7. View more photos here. LANSING, Michigan – Last Thursday (June 7, 2012), some local leaders from Northville, East Grand Rapids and Rochester testified with the League supporting two bills which deal with providing locals pension flexibility....

The National League of Cities, State and Local Legal Center will be hosting a webinar on July 19 from 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm to discuss major cases from the Supreme Court’s current term affecting local and state governments. The webinar speakers are Paul Clement, who argued the Affordable Care...

Today the Senate passed SB 351 which takes the 4% state sales tax on gas that is restricted general fund revenue and redirects it to the State Trunk Line Fund for fiscal year 2013 in order to match available federal highway funds. The bill caps the amount that can be...

On Thursday, June 14 from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm, the National League of Cities will be hosting a webinar to discuss a Housing and Transportation Affordability Index developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The index calculates housing affordability not just in terms of housing costs but also considering...

A House subcommittee has passed its first draft of the FY2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill. While the bill provides $2 billion less in funding than the Senate passed version, it appears that CDBG is being given priority as $3.34 billion was provided for CDBG, a increase of $396...