Inside 208

As the Senate seems ready to move forward with floor debate on its version of a transportation authorization legislation, House leaders have stated their intent to revise what came out of committee. It is widely known that the House bill has been meeting stiff opposition on a number issues and...

This week, the House and Senate will return from their “in-district” work weeks.  While the Senate appears ready to begin floor debate (despite several unrelated amendments to deal with) on a two year authorization bill, S. 1813, the House continues to struggle with internal opposition to H.R. 7 and is looking at...

Yesterday the Senate passed HB 4589, a bill reinstating the long-standing two inch rule for sidewalk liability. In 2009 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the two inch rule in Robinson v. City of Lansing. This legislation would reinstate that rule and ease liability burdens for municipalities. Once the House concurs...

This morning, I testified on behalf of communities throughout Michigan regarding the 2012-13 budget recommendations for the Economic Vitality and Incentive Program (EVIP, formerly statutory revenue sharing). Joining me was Tony Minghine, Associate Executive Director of the League. Before we testified, the Treasury Department testified.  They outlined the EVIP program,...

The deadline to qualify for the next one-third of Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP) funding is May 1, and the League is here to help. The Michigan Municipal League is having a free webinar 10-11 a.m. March 8 to help League member communities qualify for the next one-third of the...

The Michigan Foreclosure Task Force has launched the Michigan Historical Foreclosure Data website. This is an important new resource for foreclosure information. The website and report can be found at www.cridata.org/michiganforeclosuretaskforce. You can find and download maps, charts and trend lines at both the state and county level for a...

In a major victory for municipalities and first responders across the country, the recently passed and enacted payroll tax cut compromise also includes the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. This means that when fully implemented, public safety will have a reliable communications network that will allow first responders to...

Both the House and Senate proposals to enact a new transportation authorization bill have stalled in their respective chambers. And as different as the bills are (see comparative summary), so are the reasons for their current state. In the House, proponents of the bill contend that the delay is over...

The  2012 Spring Transportation Asset Management Conference will take place on April 25 in Livonia. The Michigan Municipal League is a co-sponsor of this conference that is designed for all local and appointed officials who have an interest in transportation projects or facilities. Here is a flyer with all of the...

Recently Amtrak and MDOT received federal funding to increase the maximum speeds of Amtrak trains in Western Michigan and Northern Indiana to 110 mph. Yesterday, federal, local and state officials joined Amtrak and MDOT for a demonstration of the new 110 mph service between Porter, Indiana and Kalamazoo, Michigan. CLICK...