Legislative Update 7-1-22

July 1, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, NACo

FY23 state budget includes 6% boost for county revenue sharing

In the wee hours on Friday, the Legislature finished the FY 2023 budget, which is set to begin on Oct. 1 of this year. Below are the major highlights, including a 6 percent (5% in the base and 1% one-time) increase in County Revenue Sharing. In addition, they passed a supplemental budget for FY22, included in which are items of importance to counties.

FY22 Supplemental

ARP – community policing grants for Wayne ($3M), Saginaw ($1M) and Genesee ($500,000) counties
ARP – community policing competitive grants – $11 million
Communication Radios and Tower – $1 million for radios in Midland County, $3 million for towers in Barry County and $4.8 million for towers in Isabella County
Requires that grants be used for the construction of new towers or the augmentation of existing towers and associated equipment to support the integration of the county into the Michigan Public Safety Communication System (MPSCS) or to expand the interoperability of all local public safety entities within the county
EMS scholarship and grant program – $30 million
Raise the Age Fund Increase – $4 million
Broadband equity, access and deployment – $5 million

FY23 Budget (by state department)

Agriculture

Local conservation districts – $3 million
Office of Rural Development Grants – $3 million for grants to rural communities, related to economic development, workforce development, affordable housing, infrastructure, education and high-speed internet access
County fairs – $500,000 for fair capital grant program (a reduction of almost $2 million from current year)
Economic development for food and agriculture industries – $50 million, of which $12 million is set aside for improvements to the Eastern Market in Detroit

Corrections

Jail reimbursement – $1 million to reimburse counties who housed felons in their jails due to the department’s closed intake of prisoners during COVID. (rate is $80 per offender per day; inmates paid for through the county jail reimbursement program are not eligible for this payment)

Energy, Great Lakes and Environment

Contaminated site cleanups – $10 million
Watershed Council grants – $600,000
Environmental health – $7.9 million for water supply oversight and support for local health departments in monitoring and testing drinking water
Municipal Assistance for FTEs to increase loan processing staff and access to federal water infrastructure loans for local communities – $5.1 million
Water State Revolving Funds – $120 million gross to continue funding the state’s water state revolving fund program
Private well testing – $5 million in one-time funding for grants to local health departments to provide free or low-cost water testing to private well owners

Labor and Economic Development

Michigan Infrastructure Grants – $212,800 for grants for infrastructure
Economic Development and Workforce Grants – $251.5 million
Blight Elimination Program – $75 million to address blighted properties across the State
Going Pro – $15 million
Pure Michigan – $40 million
Nonprofit Relief Grants to nonprofit community service organizations – $50 million

Treasury (General Government)

Revenue Sharing to Counties – $245.8 million, which is a 6 percent increase (1% is one-time increase, while 5 percent is designated as ongoing)
Pensions – $750 million for grants for local retirement systems that are less than 60 percent funded
ARP relief grants – $50 million

Health and Human Services

Medicaid primary care rates – $56.1 million to increase them
Behavioral health capacity and access initiatives – $47.3 million
Medicaid reimbursement for Community Health Workers – $28.3 million
Child and adolescent health centers – $25 million to increase funding
Child care – $10.5 million to provide a 5 percent reimbursement increase for residential child caring institutions and a 12 percent increase to private residential juvenile justice providers
Guardian and conservator reimbursement rates – $5 million to increase them
Medicaid Mental Health Local Match – $5.1 million to replace a like amount of local funding used for Medicaid mental health supports and services (amount would reflect the third year of phasing out the local match portion over a 5-year period)
Behavioral Health Inpatient Capacity and Operations – $41 million and authorizes 87 FTE positions to increase capacity at Hawthorn and to reimburse private providers of intensive psychiatric treatments
Jail Diversion Fund – $10 million
Student loan repayment for behavioral health professionals – $10 million
Non-State Behavioral Health Facility Capacity – $178.6 million
Clinical and CMHSP Integration Readiness Initiatives – $50 million for grants to facilities and providers that wish to clinically integrate physical and behavioral health services and providers and to CMHSPs for system, IT, staffing, and administrative improvements for integration readiness (funds are not available for expenditure until legislatively transferred)
State Nursing Home Surveyors – $1.6 million and 10 FTEs for education and consultation activities to improve care at skilled nursing facilities

Judiciary

Statewide Judicial Case Management System – $150 million for the cost of developing a single, statewide judicial case management system (Currently, there are 242 trial courts using and funding more than 16 case management systems and 150 computer systems. The Trial Court Funding Commission recommended that the state provide all court technology needs for trial courts, including case and document management services, and the Supreme Court recently ordered that local trial courts submit all case data in a uniform manner. Funding would support data management efforts and consistent implementation of newer technologies among trial courts; prohibits funds from being used to supplant the current user fee system and administrative purposes unrelated to the system; requires the system to comply with all security measures and restrictions and to be hosted in a secure cloud by an experienced vendor; requires implementation status report.)

Veterans Affairs

Grand Rapids Home for Veterans – $6.5 million
Veterans Suicide Prevention Outreach – $1.2 million for an outreach campaign targeting current and former servicemembers and their families on reducing suicide incidents

Natural Resources

Off-road Vehicle Trail Improvement Grants – $6.4 million to increase funding for the off-road vehicle trail improvements initiative

State Police

Secondary Road Patrol Grant Program – $15 million

Transportation

County Road Commissions Restricted Fund – $56.3 million
Airport Safety Improvement Program – $33.9 million
Local Federal Aid Road and Bridge Construction – $15.2 million
IIJA Airport Infrastructure Grants – $2.2 million
Technical Assistance, Planning, and IIJA Match Grants – $25 million to help local units to plan and match resources for IIJA grants
Electric Vehicle Study – requires the department to study the impact on revenue resulting from the integration of electric vehicles on Michigan roadways

For more information on the state budget, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Governor signs another investment in water infrastructure

A second water infrastructure bill package using federal infrastructure dollars was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week.

House Bill 5890, by Rep. Beth Griffin (R-Van Buren), HB 5891, by Rep. David Martin (R-Genesee), and HB 5892 by Rep. Sara Cambensy (D-Marquette), will update Michigan’s State Revolving Fund to ensure dollars go to modern infrastructure needs of communities. Specifically, the legislation will ensure financing is equally distributed and communities will be able to easily access state financing for water infrastructure projects.

MAC applauds the bill sponsors and the governor for their continued investments in water infrastructure.

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Flurry of county-related bills filed in hectic legislative week

Several pieces of legislation impacting local government were introduced this week during the Legislature’s marathon work days this week.

Senate Bill 1106, by Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Mason), and SB 1107, by Sen. Kevin Daley (R-Lapeer), are solar payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) measures that would establish solar energy districts in local units of government and provide for an exemption of certain taxes.

House Bill 6283, by Rep. Julie Calley (R-Ionia), would bring changes to the current Open Meetings Act rules. The legislation will create procedures for conducting electronic meetings.

House Bill 6296, by Rep. Jeff Yaroch (R-Macomb), is legislation to create an early warning system for local units of government that are at risk for fiscal stress.

MAC has been working with lawmakers and staffers on these issues. A more in-depth analysis of these bills will appear in the July 8 Legislative Update.

For more information, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org

Brush up on key county issues at July 27 Policy Summit

County leaders are cordially invited to attend, in person or via Zoom, the 2022 MAC Policy Summit on July 27 in downtown Lansing.

The Policy Summit replaces MAC’s Regional Summits, which were held at locations across Michigan in June, July and August.

Follow the link below to register. The fee is $50 for either in-person or digital registration.

The summit will include presentations on such issues as:

Addressing the workforce housing challenge
Understanding Michigan’s political landscape in 2022
The value of expanding Michigan’s trail network
Maximizing your infrastructure dollars

The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. with check-in and a continental breakfast. Policy presentations will continue until 3 p.m., with lunch provided and compliments of Enbridge. MAC also has arranged a discount rate of $139 at the Courtyard for members who wish to arrive on the evening of July 26. (To get this rate, make your reservation by July 19.)

Those who register to attend digitally will be provided a link and access codes on the day prior to the summit. In-person attendees will be provided parking information in the week prior to the event.

Register Now!

Feds announce $1B pilot program on transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for the first-of-its-kind Reconnecting Communities pilot program. The $1 billion program will help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure.

Reconnecting a community could mean adapting existing infrastructure — such as building a pedestrian walkway over or under an existing highway — to better connect neighborhoods to opportunities or better means of access such as crosswalks and redesigned intersections.

Eligible applicants for the Reconnecting Communities competitive grant pilot program include:

States
Local and Tribal governments
Metropolitan planning organizations
Nonprofit organizations
Other transportation facility owners

Preference will be given to applications from economically disadvantaged communities, especially those with projects that are focused on equity and environmental justice, have strong community engagement and stewardship, and a commitment to shared prosperity and equitable development. Of the $195 million available from the grant program this year, $50 million is dedicated to planning activities for communities that may be earlier in the process.

The Reconnecting Communities Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here. Information on Reconnecting Communities technical assistance and other resources can be found here. Applications are due Oct. 13, 2022. Awards are expected to be announced in early 2023. The new DOT Navigator can be accessed here and information on the Thriving Communities program can be found here.

The department will convene a series of stakeholder webinars to help potential applicants learn about the RCP grant program and what they need to know to prepare an application. The first one will be held Thursday, July 14 at noon EST.

Draft policy platforms now available for review prior to September vote

MAC’s Annual Business Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Blue Water Convention Center during the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference.

County commissioners who are registered for the conference may participate as voting members in the business meeting, which includes review and approval of MAC’s 2022-2023 policy platforms.

The platform process begins with MAC’s policy committees, which meet during the year to address key issues. Their drafts are then submitted to the MAC Board of Directors for review. The MAC Board then advances the drafts to the membership for final approval.

Those Board-vetted drafts are now available on the MAC website here. (Please note that this is a password-protected page. Each member county has a set of access credentials, which are shared each year with your county administrator. If you do not have your credentials, contact Hannah Sweeney at sweeney@micounties.org for them.)

According to MAC’s By-laws (Article III, Section 6):

“A member wishing to submit an amendment to the MAC Platform shall submit the amendment to MAC at least five (5) days prior to the opening day of the MAC Annual Conference. Such amendment will require a majority vote at the annual meeting to be adopted.

“An amendment to the MAC Platform may be presented from the floor during the annual meeting. Such amendment will require a 2/3 majority vote of the members at the meeting at which a quorum is initially established to be adopted.”

To submit a platform amendment in advance, draft your preferred language and email to sweeney@micounties.org no later than Sept. 13, 2022.