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May 4, 2012

Cell phone tower pre-emption passes House

Yesterday afternoon the House passed SB 1064, a bill pre-empting local cell tower colocation approval by a vote of 104-5. The bill provides that a colocation does not need special land use approval if it the existing structure is in…

May 3, 2012

Tell Lawmakers to Vote No on Personal PropertyTax Bills, Sample Letters Available

Tell your lawmakers today to vote no on Senate Bills 1065-1072 regarding the the personal property tax. Use the sample letters here.LANSING, Michigan - The Michigan Municipal League is encouraging our members to write their lawmakers today in opposition to…

May 2, 2012

Proposal to prevent automatic budget cuts in 2013 introduced

House Budget Committee Chairman, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), has introduced a plan to stop mandatory across the board spending cuts required by last summer's debt deal. The plan is actually meant to prevent any cuts to defense spending but targets cuts…

May 1, 2012

EVIP Current Year Changes Now Law

HB 5189, which extended the deadline for the current year EVIP 3rd category and provided a second path to obtaining those funds for locals, was signed into law this morning. So, those changes are now official as Public Act 107…

May 1, 2012

Senate Committee Passes Personal Property Tax Elimination BIlls on Party Line Vote

LANSING, Michigan - This morning (May 1, 2012), the Michigan Senate Finance committee voted 5-2, along party line votes, to pass SBs 1065-1072, the package of bills which eliminates significant portions of the personal property tax (PPT).The bills exempt all…

May 1, 2012

Cell phone tower pre-emption passes House committee unanimously

This morning the House Energy & Technology Committee unanimously passed SB 1064, a bill that pre-empts local zoning for cell phone tower siting. While the League is philosophically opposed to the legislation, we do appreciate Senator Kowall's willingness to work…

April 30, 2012

Liquor License Issuance and Local Requirements

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) has alerted the League that they are changing philosophy a bit on the issuance of liquor licenses. The current MLCC Board members have reviewed the Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) for the Liquor Code and…

April 30, 2012

2013 Federal budget – House and Senate talking different languages

Both the House and Senate are moving forward with separate versions of spending bills for the 2013 budget. In the Senate, leaders from both parties have agreed on an overal spending level of $1.047 trillion for fiscal year 2013, which is the total…

April 30, 2012

Transportation Conference Committee set to meet

The House and Senate have named their conferees and the first meeting of the committee tasked with hammering out a new transportation authorization before the current extension expires will meet on May 8. The most recent extension ends June 30th. That said,…

April 26, 2012

Legislature Adds Additional Opportunity to Qualify for EVIP 3rd Category This Year and Extends Deadline!

LANSING, Michigan - The Michigan Legislature Thursday evening (April 26, 2012) made some significant changes to the EVIP/Statutory Revenue Sharing process.The Legislature passed House Bill 5189, a supplemental appropriations bill, which extends the deadline for the 3rd category of EVIP/Statutory Revenue…

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