Inside 208

Congressmen Ruppersberger (D-MD-2) and Stivers (R-OH-15) introduced Investing in Our Communities Act(H.R. 2772) in order to restore tax-exempt advance refunding bonds. Up until the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs act in 2017, municipalities were able to use advance refunding bonds to lower interest rates and achieve cost savings...

Last week the State Tax Commission approved a new Frequently Asked Questions document for distribution to all relevant interest groups on the STC and Treasury's progress with the implementation of the new assessing reform proposal that was signed into law at the end of last year. This FAQ has been...

With the Legislature taking a breather last week following their work on no-fault auto insurance reform (Senate Bill 1), the focus from Lansing was on the activity at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. Members of our State & Federal Affairs team attended the conference to...

A wide-angle shot of the municipal finance panel discussion during the 2019 Mackinac Policy Conference. (Watch the full panel discussion here. Note: Conversation starts around the 4-minute mark.) Around the country, states are taking steps to help their cities thrive – and are being rewarded for those steps with economic and...

As Treasury continues to implement changes to the state's Personal Property Tax reimbursement system that were enacted last year, many communities received the second portion of their 2018 reimbursement distributions from the Local Community Stabilization Authority (LCSA) in recent days. One element of the changes enacted last summer resulted in...

Earlier this month legislation (HB 4046) to preempt local units of government from having zoning regulations regarding rentals of less than 28 days had its day in the House Local Government & Municipal Finance committee. League members showed up in force for the meeting with more than three dozen local...

Amendments to the Michigan Firework Safety Act done late last year modified when and how a municipality can regulate the ignition, discharge and use of consumer fireworks. The changes significantly reduced the total number of days as well as the time frame in which fireworks can be used and not...

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is having the fourth installment of their local leaders webinar series to focus on managing contaminated sites in your community. Contaminated properties exist in almost all communities in Michigan. It’s important that local officials are aware of how contaminated sites...

As the Legislature moves towards a potential summer recess, a number of keys issues have dominated the political landscape - Auto Insurance Reform Most of the recent work in Lansing has centered on the House and Senate movement of auto no-fault insurance reform proposals (HB 4397 and SB 1). The Senate...

The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) is expected to release draft emergency rules for the regulation of recreational marijuana around June 1 (next month). The promulgation of rules is required per the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA) passed by voters last November. The draft rules are anticipated...