Inside 208

There is much speculation among those interested in federal transportation issues whether Secretary Ray LaHood will be resigning from his post as President Obama starts his second term. When he was first appointed, the Secretary stated that he would only serve one term. Yet, he has been notably quiet regarding...

In the past several days, some Republican members of Congress have indicated that they won’t be bound by Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge in making a deal on the coming fiscal cliff. Norquist is the head of Americans for Tax Reform. Democrats, in turn, have responded with praise that this shows...

The League has learned that hearings on the Lt. Governor’s personal property tax plan could begin as early as this week.  We are still working on an analysis of the proposal as given to us by the Lt. Governor. All signs indicate that the Legislature would like to complete the...

Last week the League met with the Lieutenant Governor to discuss the latest details on personal property tax. In short the plan includes the following:  – Local units of government can levy an essential services assessment (ESA) on industrial real property to replace 100% of lost PPT revenue for police...

The House Tax Policy Committee took testimony on an S-1 substitute for SB 972 (Sen. Hildenbrand, R-Lowell). This bill would require local municipalities to include past due amounts on all tax bills.  Specifically, it will require that a taxpayer be notified of delinquent property taxes on the property as of...

With 2012 coming to an end in the next month and half, it is time to get the word out again about the League’s Legislative Committees. We hope that you will consider being a member of one (or two) of the committees for 2013. There are two levels of participation:...

The Microenterprise Network of Michigan (MNM) is a statewide association that supports entrepreneurship and microbusiness development in Michigan. Their member’s organizations provide entrepreneurial training, business technical assistance/consulting and microlending resources to diverse communities in every Michigan county. The MNM is dedicated to leading job creation, asset building, access to capital,...

Thursday morning the House Local Government committee held a second hearing on a new bill introduced this summer that would amend PA 54 of 2012, the law prohibiting retroactive wage increases, to exempt police officers and firefighters. The committee held testimony but did not take a vote. HB 5780 seeks...

Wasting no time at all, both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have made statements today saying they have no plans to back down from their stances regarding expiring tax cuts and massive spending reductions which will go into effect at the end of...

In accordance with PA 480 of 2006, the Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act, the Michigan Public Service Commission is soliciting feedback in its annual franchise survey. We are encouraging our members to participate. You can find the form online here: http://efile.mpsc.state.mi.us/phpsc/comm/video/ The Commission is asking for responses by November...