Inside 208

LANSING, Michigan – A bill to require local road agencies to annually certify that they are in compliance with several “best practices” as a condition of receiving future funding is scheduled for a House Transportation Committee hearing on Wednesday February 8 at 12pm. HB 5302 would require that beginning September 30, 2014,...

LANSING, Michigan – The Michigan House of Representatives today (feb. 2, 2012) passed HB 5142, sponsored by Rep. Marc Ouimet (R-Ann Arbor). This legislation will allow Corridor Improvement Authorities to have a board consisting of members of different communities.  Under current law, each community must create a Corridor Improvement Authority...

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has released its 2011 Annual Video Competition Report. It may be viewed online here: http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/mpsc/comm/video/ The Commission encourages customers to submit complaints to them if the customer is unable to resolve a dispute with a video/cable provider. Additional information regarding filing a complaint is...

Tuesday afternoon the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed HB 4589, a bill that would reinstate the long-standing two inch rule for sidewalk liability. In 2009 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the rule in Robinson v. City of Lansing. This is the second legislative session where the League has been pushing...

Wednesday, February 1st, the House Tax Policy Committee will be taking testimony on a couple of bills which retain the cap on property if it is transferred within family to the third degree. The bills are HBs 4753 sponsored by Rep. Pettalia (R- Presque Isle) and HB 4515, sponsored by...

Wednesday, February 1st, the House Tax Policy Committee is taking up HB 4134, sponsored by Rep. O’Brien (R-Portage) which exempts new housing construction from property taxes until the home is no longer on “development property” – essentially until it is transferred. The League is opposed to bills that would provide a tax advantage...

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – After years of planning and construction, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood helped dedicate the new state-of-the-art bus transit facility in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. The Wealthy Operations Center project will house the Rapid bus system’s dispatch center, maintenance facility, and training center....

This morning the Michigan House of Representatives’ Redistricting and Elections Committee held testimony on HB 5219, legislation that would limit a local unit of government’s ability to ask voters for increases in local revenue.  It would limit any initiative that asks for an increase in revenue to being placed on...

This afternoon the Michigan House of Representatives’ Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee reported HBs 5023-5026, bills that would impose penalties on public employees who strike and would require written consent for a pubilc employer to deduct union dues from wages. Last week the Michigan Municipal League officially opposed the bills. ...

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has announced that $500 million in funding is now available under a fourth round of the TIGER Grant program. Funds will be used for surface transportation projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or region.  As in previous rounds,...