Inside 208

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...

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...

In disappointing news for local government leaders, last week as part of the Executive Budget recommendation, the President proposed a cap on the tax exemption on municipal bonds. This goes against the President’s call for an increase in our nation’s infrastructure investment, as the tax exempt status of these bonds...

This morning the House Appropriations Committee reported an omnibus budget that included the Fiscal Year 2014 recommendations for EVIP. They did not make changes from the subcommittee version that passed several weeks ago. Unfortunately the budget does not include a recommended increase in EVIP funding for FY 2014. The boilerplate...

Wednesday afternoon the Senate General Government Appropriations Subcommittee reported its Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budget recommending a 4.8 percent funding increase in the EVIP program, totalling an additional $10.8 million for cities, villages and townships who qualify. In addition the Senate made some changes to the EVIP program language. In...

Earlier this week Plante Moran released information that shows statutory revenue sharing cuts to communities in excess of $6 billion since 2001. You can view the information here: lost revenue sharing summary 4 2013.pdf (28.26 kb) This year Governor Snyder has proposed flat funding for EVIP (formerly revenue sharing) and...

This morning the House General Government appropriations subcommittee reported HB 4220, the general government budget that includes EVIP funding. You may view the committee passed substitute here: HB 4220 h-1.pdf (712.12 kb) (The EVIP language begins on page 115.) Unfortunately the budget does not include a recommended increase in EVIP...

This Saturday local communities scored a big victory when the Senate voted on an amendment to support Marketplace Fairness as part of the Budget Resolution. The amendment passed 75-24 with BOTH Michigan Senators Stabenow and Levin voting yes. The vote was considered a test vote because it is non-binding as...

This week is the first of two weeks of the legislature’s in district work period they take every year. As a result many legislators will not be in Lansing, and legislative session will not be held. Several committees will be meeting over the break, however, including the House General Government...