Inside 208

Yesterday the House Local Government Committee heard testimony on HB 4194, a bill that would allow a local unit of government to increase the percentage in its budget stabilization fund from 15 to 20 percent. The committee did not vote on the legislation, but I anticipate additional hearings in the [...]

Yesterday the House Local Government Committee heard testimony on House Bill 4624, a bill that would make a full-time firefighter’s ability to work as a firefighter in another community a prohibited subject of bargaining.The legislation is supported by the fire chiefs and the Michigan Townships Association. The League is opposed [...]

On Wednesday, September 18 at 12:30 pm the Senate Finance Committee is taking up the first bills to address unresolved issues in the personal property tax legislation.  Senate Bills 489 and 490 address the small parcel exemption (those tax payers who have less than $80,000 true cash value in a [...]

In this year’s budget the legislature included a Communications and Technology (ICT) Innovation Fund. The fund is an annual appropriation and is intended to provide loans to state government agencies, non-profit partners, and local governments to implement innovative tech solutions within their respective realm.  The funds are specifically intended to [...]

This morning the House Tax Policy Committee reported House Bills 4202 and 4203, bills that would force more online retailers to collect sales tax at the point of the sale. Current law requires customers to report online sales and pay taxes on those sales, but enforcement is not efficient. This [...]

On Tuesday the House General Government Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the revenue sharing formula.  The committee voted unanimously to request that the Citizens Research Council (CRC) do a study to review the current revenue sharing formula. The specific request from the committee is available here: EVIP Outline [...]

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced the Downtown Infrastructure Grant Program (DIG) aimed at helping low and moderate income Michigan non-entitlement communities to improve their downtown infrastructure quality and reduce redevelopment costs for future projects. DIG, a Community Development Block Grant program, is designed to provide public infrastructure improvement [...]

As required in statute the Department of Treasury has released its Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP) Information Notification letter that provides guidance for communities to qualify for payments under the FY 2014 EVIP program. You can find information Treasury’s website and on the League’s EVIP resource page. You can submit [...]

The US Department of Health and Human Services has just released a toolkit for local governments to understand and implement the Affordable Care Act. The toolkit includes an overview of the Affordable Care Act, a sample outreach and enrollment plan that you can tailor for your community, frequently asked questions [...]

The following is an excerpt of a message for Michigan communities from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT): The Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT’s) Local Agency Program (LAP) Unit is reminding local agencies of the permit requirements for local agency projects, originally outlined in a letter dated July 31, 2006. [...]