Inside 208

Earlier today, Governor Whitmer signed a package of bills said to be vital to Michigan’s efforts to compete for transformational projects into law. The bipartisan supported bills create the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) program which fully funds a historic economic development toolkit. These bills passed the legislature last [...]

As the state Legislature wrapped up for the year, no action was taken to extend the December 31, 2021, sunset in the Open Meetings Act allowing public bodies to meet remotely. Starting January 1, 2022, any remote meeting accommodations previously allowable because of a local state of emergency declaration, or [...]

In an effort to help local units of government address critical needs in recruiting and training first responders, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Public Act 87 of 2021 that appropriates $5 million to create the First Responder Training and Recruitment Grant Program. All Michigan cities, villages, townships, counties or fire authorities [...]

Much of the focus of this final week of legislative session for the calendar year focused on negotiations between the Governor and Legislature on an economic development proposal reacting to Ford Motor Company's recent decision to locate their new battery/electric vehicle plant in Tennessee. As a component of the larger...

The Michigan Municipal League needs your help to oppose a bill related to the personal property tax that could get a vote in the state Senate as early as Tuesday, December 14th. While we prefer you call your state Senators, we’ve also created this sample letter through our Action Center [...]

The recently passed federal infrastructure bill reauthorizes federal transportation spending and adds billions in new investment that can help communities across Michigan over the next 5 years. The department of transportation is hosting a series of briefings and listening sessions on the new bipartisan infrastructure bill. The link below will [...]

U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the Department has begun accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet. This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides another nearly $2 billion [...]

The League would like to call your attention to a Notice and Request for Information (RFI) on “Development of Guidance for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Deployment” that was published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in a recent edition of the Federal Register (86 FR 67782, Nov. 29, 2021). The [...]

Earlier today, the Michigan Department of Treasury circulated a list of the local units that have not submitted all of the required CVTRS documentation (as of Nov 29th 6:30 PM). The list can be downloaded here: FY 2022 Missing CVTRS 11-29-21 630PM Treasury staff emailed all local units early last [...]

SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, and its partner organization, the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (MAC), have launched a study to gather residents’ perceptions on broadband. Responses will help guide future planning efforts. This evaluation will take only a few minutes to complete. The survey is intended to collect perceptions [...]