Legislative Update 4-7-23

April 7, 2023Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, NACo

2 bill packages could boost or stabilize county revenue

Two bill packages were introduced in Lansing in late March that could serve to stabilize revenues for counties and create more predictability in revenues.

The first package, Senate Bills 229 and 230, by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Macomb) creates a “Revenue Sharing Trust Fund,” which is a big priority for MAC this year.

With this trust fund, the legislation would require a percentage of the state sales tax be deposited into the fund and prescribe an equitable distribution from of half to counties and half to cities, villages and townships (CVTs).

If enacted, counties could see an increase of at least 43 percent on their current revenue sharing in the first year alone. Additional increases would be based on the growth of the state’s sales tax.

The bills, developed by MAC in consultation with Sen. Klinefelt and others, have been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection.

The second package creates an optional structure for the taxes levied on solar facilities in Michigan.

House Bills 4317 and 4318, by Reps. Curt VanderWall (R-Mason) and Cynthia Neeley (D-Genesee) respectively, would allow for the creation of solar energy districts by local municipalities after a mandatory public hearing. Subsequently, solar energy developers could apply for an exemption from local property taxes and instead pay a flat rate of $7,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity for the proposed solar energy facility, instead of ad valorem property taxes. The payment would be locked in for 20 years and distributed based on the proportions of normal taxes that would have been paid to each taxing unit.

An additional financial incentive would be offered for developers that choose to site their facilities on brownfield properties, in opportunity zones, as a secondary use on already improved real property (i.e., roof tops) or on state-owned property. In such cases, the reimbursement rate would be $2,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity.

The impetus behind the legislation is twofold. First, this methodology for compensating locals for lost taxes will provide financial predictability for the developers and the locals, hopefully avoiding the same problems we have had with the challenges to the evaluation of wind turbines. Second, the rate and process should serve as incentives for developers to build more renewable energy facilities.

The bills have been referred to the House Tax Policy Committee. After years of participation on workgroups to ensure local options, a stable funding source, appropriate zoning considerations and adequate local reimbursements, MAC has taken a neutral position on HBs 4317-18.

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

Legislative leadership panel will highlight conference’s third day

Leaders from the majority and minority parties in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature will join MAC for a discussion on their priorities and what has changed in Lansing since Democrats gained the majority in the House and Senate for the first time in 40 years. They also will be asked for their views on a variety of county priorities in 2023. The discussion will be moderated by Deena Bosworth, MAC’s director of governmental affairs.

The panel will include:

House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Wayne
House Minority Floor Leader Bryan Posthumus, R-Kent
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Kent
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Cass

This special session will run from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26.

Other sessions and events not to miss at this year’s conference include:

“A National Perspective on the County Landscape and Priorities” by Matt Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties
A MAC Legislative Update from MAC’s Governmental Affairs staff
A State of MAC report from MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie
Remarks from MAC President Stan Ponstein of Kent County
An “Opioids Help Desk” where MAC’s Amy Dolinky will answers questions on opioid settlement fund planning
A Legislative Reception on the evening of Tuesday, April 25, during which MAC will present its County Advocate Awards for legislative service in 2022.

HOTEL UPDATE: The main conference hotel is now SOLD OUT. If you still need a room, we recommend contacting the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Lansing (approximately 2 blocks from the Lansing Center) at 517-367-6677.

Click here to register.

See conference agenda.

For additional details on registration pricing, parking and more, visit the conference page on MAC’s website.

Calling for transparency on opioid settlement investments

Last week, following the release of the Michigan Opioid Advisory Commission’s inaugural report calling for increased transparency of state spending, Kaiser Health News (KHN) reported on a need for transparency among state and local governments around opioid settlement funds.

The story was followed up by a Twitter feed outlining core issues and a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) more detailed spend plan that has not been made publicly available before. The KHN reporter, Aneri Pattani, outlines how challenging it was to obtain this information. The spend plan that KHN was able to obtain differs from the spend plan released to the public by MDHHS on Feb. 10, even though both plans are share the same date.

National guidance from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health outlines five core principles for use of opioid settlement funds. Principle 5 specifies the need for community engagement and transparency in the planning and investment process. The KHN article also links to an interactive map, created by Christine Minhee, founder of OpioidSettlementTracker.com, showing the percentage of funds states have promised to publicly report on, outlining that the state of Michigan has no current plans to report on use of settlement funds.

County leaders should ensure community engagement in their settlement planning and consider ways in which transparency can be provided throughout all steps of the process. Consideration should be given to the different types of publicly available information that can be provided, from open meetings, public meeting minutes, listening sessions, town hall meetings all the way to annual reporting on expenditures and activities.

For assistance on anything related to opioid settlement planning, please contact Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

U.S. Treasury portal now open; P&E reports due by April 30

“All counties must submit an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund) Project and Expenditure (P&E) Report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) by April 30, 2023,” the National Association of Counties reminded in a post this week. “These required, periodic reports provide Treasury with financial and current performance information on projects using Recovery Funds. To help counties navigate the reporting process, the Treasury has released several resources that answer many of counties’ most common questions.

“The Project and Expenditure Report User Guide takes counties step-by-step through the reporting portal and gives more details on what information Treasury wants for some programmatic questions. The guide includes screenshots of the Treasury Portal, showing counties what questions they can expect to answer for each project. This document is a supplement to Treasury’s compliance and reporting guidance.

“For the April P&E Reports, Treasury announced new information that counties are required to submit: These updates apply to all counties unless a county allocated its entire ARPA allocation towards the $10 million revenue loss standard allowance.

“Please note that there is new information that is required for these April P&E Reports. Counties are now required to include the following information (these requirements DO NOT apply to expenditures that are paid for using lost revenue – EC 6.1):

Unique Entity ID Requirements for Subrecipients and Contractors: All subrecipients and contractors are required to have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) and have that number included as part of the reporting process. The UEI is the replacement for the previously used DUNS numbers, and they are issued by SAM.gov. While this requirement is not new, starting in April 2023’s P&E Report the report form will now return an error when no valid UEI is provided when creating new Subrecipient or Contractor entities. This was previously not explicitly required, but strongly urged by Treasury.
1. Treasury has stated that for the April 2023 P&E reporting form, if a pre-existing subrecipient or contractor record does not have a UEI, the system will simply flag it as a warning but not prevent them from submission of the entire P&E report.
2. However, ANY NEW subrecipient or contractor records will be required to have their UEIs provided and they cannot create those entities without one.
3. Treasury has stated they DO NOT KNOW how long they will be able to keep this flexibility available after April 2023 so counties should get their UEIs together ASAP.

New Subaward/Direct Payments Entity Type: All Subawards/Direct Payments records will be required to have an “entity type” selected before a subaward can be created. This field will capture whether the entity receiving the award or payment is a Subrecipient, Contractor, or Beneficiary. If a county attempts to create a new subaward for a subrecipient without a populated entity type field will result in an error.

For more information, please see Treasury’s Recipient Compliance and Reporting Guidance page.

Apply by May 30 for federal grants on EV charging infrastructure

Applications are due by May 30 for a new federal grant program dedicated to electric vehicle charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has allocated $2.5 billion for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. Counties will be eligible as long as the planned infrastructure is publicly accessible along designated highways, interstates and major roadways.

In February, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed an unprecedented investment in electric vehicles during her budget presentation. Her recommendations included $45 million for local governments to convert their fleets to EVs, $65 million for charging infrastructure both commercially and at-home, $48.8 million to temporarily suspend the sales tax on electric vehicles and $150 million for electric school buses.

As electric vehicles grow in popularity, communities will need to invest in charging infrastructure to accommodate drivers. This grant program is a great opportunity to utilize federal dollars for this essential equipment. Please review the USDOT notice of funding to learn more.

For more information on MAC’s infrastructure efforts, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

NACo extends deadline to apply for Achievement Awards

The deadline for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards applications has been extended to Friday, April 14 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

By participating, your county can earn local and national recognition for your county’s groundbreaking efforts and share ideas with your peers across the country. Achievement Award winners have been featured in local media and in County News. Additionally, NACo often spotlights award-winning programs in congressional testimony and hearings, White House and federal agency briefings, publications, and other county storytelling.

This year, counties will receive recognition in 18 categories covering a wide spectrum of county responsibilities. All winners receive an award certificate and customizable press releases. The 18 “best of category” winners will receive special recognition at the 2023 NACo Annual Conference.

Click here to apply.

Staff picks

Overcoming worker shortages in public sector amidst growing demand (American City and County)
Governments should compete for residents, not businesses (Governing)
Raincoats, undies, school uniforms: Are your clothes dripping in ‘forever chemicals’? (Kaiser Health News)
No April Fools’ prank: Jogger has close encounter with cow (Associated Press)

Legislative Update 3-31-23

March 31, 2023Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

Large field of candidates to vie for MAC Board seats

Fourteen county commissioners from across Michigan have filed to fill five vacant board seats on the MAC Board of Directors in elections to be held at the 2023 Legislative Conference, April 24-26.

“This is the largest field of candidates we’ve had in recent memory,” said Stephan Currie, MAC’s executive director, “so it’s important that we have the best possible participation in the elections on April 25.”

The 16-member MAC Board is the association’s governing body. It meets four times per year.

Candidates for these special elections are:

Region II

Neil Ahrens, Emmet
Lauren Flynn, Grand Traverse
Art Jeannot, Benzie
Bryan Kolk, Newaygo
Jarris Rubingh, Antrim

Region III

Ryan Laylin, Cass
Tom Matthew, Branch
Tami Rey, Kalamazoo
Rick Shaffer, St. Joseph

Region IV

Irene Cahill, Ingham
Dwight Washington, Clinton

Region V

Sarah Lucido, Macomb
Terry Marecki, Wayne

Region VI

Donald O’Farrell, Iosco

Election procedures

Only commissioners who register for the Legislative Conference (see item below) may participate in the regional caucuses that fill these seats.
Regional Board seats are filled by elections in which each COUNTY gets ONE vote.
The caucuses will begin at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25 in the Lansing Center. (Exact room assignments will be released immediately prior to the conference.)
Each candidate provided a statement of candidacy with their filing. See below. (If you are not sure which Region your county is in, please consult this list.)
See statements from each candidate and more details about the election by clicking here.

Conference will provide substantial info on opioid settlements

With counties now deep into planning on how to deploy funds from national opioid settlements, the 2023 Legislative Conference will be a great aid to county leaders interested in learning more on the subject.

On Tuesday morning, April 25, a breakout will focus on “helping counties learn about best practices on treatment and prevention. It is critical for counties to use evidence-based practices and respond to the needs of their communities, which are facing even higher rates of opioid overdose deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic began.”

In addition, Amy Dolinky, MAC’s technical adviser on opioid settlement planning, will be stationed at an “Opioids Help Desk” in the registration area to respond to inquiries from conference-goers. Among topics Dolinky can address are:

Understanding the opioid settlement landscape and allowable uses of funding
Guidance for community engagement and engaging those with lived experience and persons that use drugs
Assistance with community needs assessments and strategic planning efforts
Support in development of spending plans
Preparation for current and future reporting
Linkage to additional resources and support

Early-bird registration (member rate of $405) continues to April 3 for the conference, the first of MAC’s two signature events for our 125^th Anniversary year.

This year’s event will be April 24-26 in Lansing, with sessions at both the Radisson Hotel and the Lansing Center. The event is co-hosted by the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council (MCMFC).

Click here to register.

Plenary sessions will feature:

A discussion with the Legislative “Quadrant” (the four senior officials in the House and Senate) led by MAC’s director of governmental affairs, Deena Bosworth
“A National Perspective on the County Landscape and Priorities” by Matt Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties
A MAC Legislative Update from MAC’s Governmental Affairs staff
A State of MAC report from MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie
Remarks from MAC President Stan Ponstein of Kent County

A Legislative Reception on the evening of Tuesday, April 25, during which MAC will present its County Advocate Awards for legislative service in 2022.

See conference agenda.

For additional details on hotel rooms, registration pricing, parking and more, visit the conference page on MAC’s website.

Special episode delves into rising issue of lake levels across Michigan

In a special episode of Podcast 83, MAC’s Deena Bosworth discusses the rising issue of inland lake levels with a legal expert on county responsibilities for lakes.

Stacy Hissong, general counsel for the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners and member of the law firm of Fahey Schultz, reviews both the unique role of Michigan’s county drain commissioners and the challenges that counties face on the approximately 400 inland lakes for which they have operational responsibility.

In this episode, learn more about:

What officer determines the lake level on a lake that a county is responsible for
Techniques that are used to maintain a proper lake level
Challenges now confronting counties on lake control

See the full video session, originally recorded on Feb. 21, 2023, by clicking here.

Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.

And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.

Pension grants are focus of April 6 Treasury webinar

The Michigan Department of Treasury will host the initial webinar to review the Protecting MI Pension: Michigan Local Pension Grant Program on April 6. This initial webinar will focus on the processes that local governments will use to complete and submit an application, along with the process for review and award distribution. Subsequent webinars will focus on technical aspects related to the Protecting MI Pension Grant program, as well as frequently asked questions.

Topics will include: Bureau of Local Government and School Services – Trusted Partner Model, Overview of Protecting MI Pension Grant Program, Eligibility Requirements, Grant Application Process, Program Award Distribution Process, Key Dates and Timeline, and Next Steps.

Additional information related to FAQs, program guidelines, and application materials will be available at www.Michigan.gov/MIPensionGrant no later than April 15, 2023. Please be sure to sign up for Treasury – Local Government email alerts to be notified of additional updates to this grant program and other local government notifications.

Questions regarding the Protecting MI Pension Grant can be directed to Treasury at Treasury-MIPensionGrant@Michigan.gov.

Staff picks

Undergrounding electrical lines is an option to prevent power outages, but state policy is needed to better enable the practice (Citizens Research Council of Michigan)
Chart of Week: Average Residential Electricity Prices (Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency)
Child Care for CHIPS: Will tying semiconductor incentives to child care help build the system we need? (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)
Elephant in the dining room: Startup makes mammoth meatball (Associated Press)

Legislative Update 3-24-23

March 24, 2023Blog, Blog Dynamic, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

MAC-backed revenue sharing bills introduced

Two different packages of bills that create a state Revenue Sharing Trust Fund and direct the expenditures of such a fund have been introduced in the Legislature.

Senate Bills 229–230, by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Macomb), are backed by MAC and carve out a portion of the state’s sales tax for deposit into the fund (10% of all funds collected by 4 percentage points of the sales tax rate).

The bills also:

Stipulate the money in the fund does not lapse to the state’s General Fund
Allocate an even split of the funds between counties and CVTs (cities, villages and townships)

A dedicated fund helps protect revenue sharing dollars from being raided during the annual appropriations process. The 10 percent collection rate would boost current allocations to counties and reflect the true intention of revenue sharing by requiring a portion of the state’s revenue to be shared with local governments. In this system, if sales tax revenue goes up, revenue sharing would go up, if the sales tax revenue fell, so would the money in the fund.

Legislation advanced by the Michigan Municipal League (House Bills 4274–75 and SBs 182–183) takes a slightly different approach.

That package would create a base in a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund of the Fiscal Year 2024 recommended revenue sharing amounts and distribute funds on the current allocation method. The fund could accept additional monies but would not require additional deposits into the fund. While this approach would help insulate local governments from further raids on revenue sharing by the Legislature, it does not build in a system for growth.

The current revenue sharing system is overly complicated and not well understood. For example, many don’t know that counties don’t share in more than $1 billion in constitutional revenue sharing that all CVTs receive per capita. For a quick primer on the revenue sharing program, check out this slide deck prepared by the House Fiscal Agency.

Parity on the statutory side of revenue sharing, as reflected in Sen. Klinefelt’s bills mentioned above, is appropriate given the fact counties serve 100 percent of the state’s population and have significantly more mandated services to provide to our residents than other local governments.

MAC also is advocating for an increase in the amount in the fund to ensure no local government is faced with reductions in their allocation and to ensure the state supports the work done at the regional and local levels.

A survey recently conducted by MAC found members would use additional revenue sharing dollars to invest in communities in ways long supported by the Legislature, such as infrastructure; unfunded liabilities; customer service improvements; attraction and retention of employees; economic development; and cybersecurity.

Revenue sharing is the most flexible form of state aid to counties, which makes it the most effective method to fund generational investments in public services — with decisions made at the local level. Reform of revenue sharing is one of MAC’s top legislative priorities for 2023.

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

Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force testifies before Senate panel

Members of the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform testified before the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety this week on the 32 recommendations they provided to the Legislature last July.

Of these recommendations, two tiers of priorities have been identified.

The first tier, consisting of six priorities, will be introduced in an approximately 15-bill package later this spring. This package would include expansions to the County Child Care Fund (CCF), including an increase in reimbursement rates to counties from 50 percent to 75 percent for community-based services; expanding eligibility for diversion; and requiring the use of risk and needs assessments.

(UPDATE: Please see clarification on CCF rate changes in the Aug. 25, 2023, Legislative Update.)

In addition to expanding the CCF, the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission would be expanded to implement youth defense standards in local county defense systems, the State Appellate Defender’s Office would be required to oversee a system of appellate defense for juveniles and court fines and fees for juveniles would be waived.

MAC supports this bill package and will continue working to implement the recommendations of the task force.

For more information on this issue, please contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

New rules on materials management loom for counties

On March 29, new state legal provisions kick in requiring counties to update their Materials Management Plans (MMP) and increase recycling rates in Michigan.

(NOTE: If you listened to this week’s Podcast 83, be advised that timetables shared there were incorrect; see correct information below.)

A 180-day window for counties to determine whether they planned to file a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) does not officially begin until the director of the EGLE initiates it.

After those 180 days, if a county declines to prepare a new MMP, EGLE will create one for them and the county will then be responsible for implementing the plan. If a county decides to file an NOI and prepare their own MMP, they will have 36 months to plan and receive approval from EGLE. Counties have the option to collaborate with neighboring counties to create regional plans.

Counties that file an NOI will be provided funding from the state to prepare their plans. Each county will be granted a base of $60,000, plus 50 cents per capita, up to $300,000. An additional $10,000 will be given to each county that enters a multi-county plan.

Until the EGLE director initiates the process, counties can consider their waste capacity limits, their willingness to draft their own MMP and whether they would like to partner with other counties.

In the meantime, EGLE will be hosting monthly webinars to walk counties through the process. We encourage each county to have at least one representative participate in these discussions. The meetings are typically held on the third Wednesday of each month; however, April’s meeting has been cancelled.

The next scheduled meeting will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 17. To be included in future meeting notices, please email egle-mmp@michigan.gov.

For more information on this issue, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

Wayne County addresses Senate panel on juvenile facility crisis

Wayne County officials were called to testify this week before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in the wake of news reports of major problems at the county’s juvenile center.

Every county in Michigan is suffering from a bed and/or staffing shortage within the juvenile justice system. Incidents like those in Wayne can and should be avoided with the help of the state Department of Health and Human Services. Without proper funding of our juvenile justice system, staff go underpaid and overworked, then leave. Youths go without the services they need and deserve, and risks to public safety are posed.

Court-involved youth in Michigan are currently staying in short-term detention facilities, such as Wayne’s, for months or, in some cases, even years. The staffing shortage has led to countless empty beds in residential facilities that would otherwise be in use. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula do not have access to a local facility and are forced to send youths to Southern Michigan or out of state. This issue has become a crisis, and the time is now for our state to provide funding to alleviate the burden on this system.

MAC has requested that the state fund staff recruitment, retention, and training to resolve the current staffing shortage crisis, as well as funding for the creation of an additional facility to serve northern counties who do not have access.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

Podcast 83 looks at juvenile justice, solid waste, revenue sharing

Major changes are looming for three significant areas of county responsibility, MAC’s Podcast 83 team said this week.

Host Stephan Currie and the MAC Governmental Affairs Team of Deena Bosworth, Madeline Fata and Samantha Gibson took in-depth looks at the following issues in Lansing:

Juvenile justice reform legislation, with Gibson saying a large packet of bills would constitute “a whole juvenile system overhaul”
Revenue sharing reform, with Bosworth detailing her recent testimony to multiple legislative panels on MAC’s plan to create a protected fund for revenue sharing payments and create parity between counties and other local governments on such appropriations
Materials management, with Fata reporting that the clock is ticking for counties to make a big decision on whether, under state law passed last year, they will write new solid waste plans or let the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy do so (Correction: Some of the timing mentioned in this week’s podcast on this issue is incorrect; please refer to the written item in this Legislative Update for proper details.)

See the full video, recorded on March 20, by clicking here.

Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.

And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.

Opioid Advisory Commission releases annual report

The Michigan Opioid Advisory Commission released its 2023 Annual Report: A Planning Guide for State Policy Makers on Thursday (March 23). The report provides a comprehensive overview of the background of the opioid epidemic in Michigan and the national landscape in which the opioid settlements are taking place. The report details the state of Michigan’s intended uses of current settlement funds and outlines approved uses of funds as provided in Exhibit E.

The report looks specifically at the Principles for the Use of Funds From the Opioid Litigation and provides a scorecard for Michigan’s adoption of these principles, identifying strategies and gaps. The final section of the report outlines the commission’s findings and recommendations, as well as the Opioid Advisory Commissions strategic plan and planning considerations.

As a reminder, local governments have been given an opportunity to participate in national Opioid Settlements with Teva, Allergan, CVS and Walmart. To participate in these settlements, counties must complete a participation form and return the form by April 18. We encourage all counties to participate in these additional settlements.

For more information on this issue, contact Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

Staff picks

Rural Energy for America Program Success Stories Report (Environmental Law and Policy Center)
Challenges facing Michigan local governments (MSU Center for Local Government Finance and Policy)
Emotional stress remains a burden on students as COVID fades (Gallup)
Saugatuck becomes latest lakeshore community to grapple over short-term rentals (Holland Sentinel)

Legislative Update 3-17-23

March 17, 2023Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

MAC makes case on revenue sharing to Senate funding panel

Properly investing in local government services is a key economic development strategy, MAC told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee this week.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on General Government, Deena Bosworth, MAC’s director of governmental affairs, urged legislators to take up a MAC-backed plan to dedicate proper funding to revenue sharing to secure local services.

County revenue sharing, Bosworth explained, was established as an alternative to local taxation, with the intent that the state would share its revenue with local governments. However, revenue sharing has not kept up with the growth of the state budget or inflation “While economic development projects are crucial to our state, investing in these projects is only a piece of the pie — counties need to properly fund the services we provide, from public health to roads, we serve 100 percent of the population, but we only receive a fraction of the unrestricted revenue sharing dollars from the state,” she noted.

Also, there are no inflationary adjustments in the revenue sharing dollars counties receive, leaving FY23 revenue sharing for counties at $245 million. If the state paid counties at the same rates as from FY01, with adjustments for inflation, FY23 revenue sharing would amount to $392 million.

MAC supports parity in statutory revenue sharing for counties and would like the Legislature to bring counties up to the same recommended level as the revenue sharing for cities, villages and township, proposed at $293.5 million.

MAC also requested to eliminate unnecessary and time-consuming reporting requirements created by the County Incentive Program, which involves 20 percent of a county’s revenue sharing funds.

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

Federal proposal would ease regulations on foster homes

A new regulation to allow child welfare agencies to adopt less stringent licensing standards for all relative and kinship foster family homes was offered by federal officials last month. Counties with foster care jurisdiction are encouraged to submit comments on the proposed regulation before April 17.

Kinship care allows relatives or close friends to care for children who are removed from their homes as a result of abuse or neglect. The state of Michigan is facing a foster care bed shortage. Alleviating administrative hurdles for relatives to become licensed foster care providers, rather than placing youth in the foster care system, would allow children to stay with adults they know and leave foster care beds open to those who do not have kinship care options.

MAC supports federal efforts, including the proposed regulation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to increase and incentivize kinship placements for best possible outcomes for children under the care of the county.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

Celebrate County Government Month in April

National County Government Month (NCGM), held each April, is an annual celebration of county government. Since 1991, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has encouraged counties to actively promote county roles and responsibilities in serving residents. Counties can schedule activities any time during the month. NCGM is an excellent opportunity for your county to highlight effective or innovative county programs and raise public awareness of services provided to the community.

This year’s National County Government Month theme is consistent with NACo President Denise Winfrey’s focus for the year, Counties RISE!

RISE! stands for Resiliency, Inclusion, Solvency and Empowerment – and the exclamation point speaks to the enthusiasm and passion with which we tell those stories. Counties are encouraged to reflect on this theme as you choose how to celebrate NCGM.

NACo’s NCGM page has a wealth of resources for counties to use to engage with residents on the central role county government plays in everyday life:

If you have questions about National County Government Month, please contact Nicole Weissman at nweissman@naco.org.

State regulator pledges higher outage fee in wake of ice storm

Michigan’s utility regulatory will start requiring a $35 per day credit in power outages, indexed for inflation, a House committee was told Wednesday.

The House Energy, Communications and Technology Committee is reviewing the actions of Michigan’s two major electric utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, in the wake of last month’s devastating ice storm that left hundreds of thousands without power.

Representatives of the state Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees utilities, said it would be altering its rules to require the $35 per day credit, up from the flat $35 (DTE) or $25 (Consumers) credit to utility customers who went without power for more than 96 hours.

DTE and Consumers execs faced extensive questioning about their role in the outages.

While DTE acknowledged the existing fee was not enough to replenish the food lost by households during these outages, but explained the, set by PSC, is meant as a penalty to utilities, rather than compensation to customers.

Both DTE and Consumers insisted the most pressing need for both companies is properly investing in a reliable grid. They claim that is the key to fewer outages and they asked for support from the legislature and all stakeholders to help make the necessary improvements.

Several customers delivered impassioned testimony about the impact these outages had on their families. Committee members voiced their sympathies and urged the utilities to take these personal stories into consideration moving forward.

MAC will continue to monitor any legislative responses to the energy emergency and provide updates if necessary.

Staff picks

Analysis: On second anniversary of the American Rescue Plan’s passage, the future is uncertain (American City and County)
Coming Income Tax Rate Cut Will Put a Dent in Budget Growth (Citizens Research Council of Michigan)
Vasectomies, basketball, and the madness of March in Michigan (MLive)
Beloved and debated, French bulldog becomes top U.S. dog breed (Associated Press)

Legislative Update 3-10-23

March 10, 2023Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

Registration opens for 2023 Legislative Conference

Registration opened today (March 10) for the 2023 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference, the first of MAC’s two signature events for our 125^th Anniversary year.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been invited to keynote the conference, with her remarks currently scheduled for Tuesday, April 25.

Click here to register.

Additional plenary sessions will feature:

A discussion with the Legislative “Quadrant” (the four senior officials in the House and Senate) led by MAC’s director of governmental affairs, Deena Bosworth
“A National Perspective on the County Landscape and Priorities” by Matt Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties
A MAC Legislative Update from MAC’s Governmental Affairs staff
A State of MAC report from MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie
Remarks from MAC President Stan Ponstein of Kent County

Breakout sessions on current challenges for county leaders will include the impact of electric vehicles on road funding, trial court funding, running effective meetings with Robert’s Rules of Order, property tax limitations and litigation and maintenance on dams.

A Legislative Reception will be held on the evening of Tuesday, April 25, during which MAC will present its County Advocate Awards for legislative service in 2022.

See draft agenda (subject to change).

MCMCFC members may attend special sessions for them on human trafficking, the state’s Freedom of Information Act, the opioid settlement funding and survey readiness. These sessions have been submitted to WNA CEAP for approval to award contact hours. Wisconsin Nurses Association is an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. These sessions also have been submitted to NAB for Nursing Home Administrator credits.

The conference will be an in-person event.

Your member registration fee of $405 provides access to all conference events, snacks at the Radisson Hotel on Monday afternoon, the Legislative Reception with appetizers and beverages, two breakfasts at the Lansing Center (Tues-Wed), lunch on Tuesday at the Lansing Center and a boxed lunch on Wednesday you can take with you on your journey home.

Those eligible for the member rate include county commissioners, county administrators, county clerks, county treasurers, county registers, county prosecutors, county sheriffs, county drain commissioners, county department heads and employees and staff of MCMCFC member facilities.

Early-bird Member Rate $405 ends April 3
Early-bird Non-member Rate $480 ends April 3
Member Regular Rate $475
Non-member Regular Rate $550
Please note that single-day rates will NOT be offered
Last day to cancel is April 14

Hotel information

The Radisson Hotel Lansing at the Capitol is again providing a special group rate for the event and is connected via the newly renovated pedestrian bridge to the Lansing Center itself. The bridge now offers improved lighting, new security systems, ventilation system and carpet.

The cutoff date to reserve your room in the conference block is April 3. There is no guarantee that rooms will be available until April 3, so you are encouraged to reserve early.

Call 1-800-333-3333 or click HERE to make your reservation.

Radisson Hotel Lansing | 111 N. Grand Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933

Room rate: $142.95* | Event code: MAC423

Check-in is 4 p.m.; check-out is 12PM

Valet parking is $20 per vehicle per night

*Rate does not include 13% tax

Tax-exempt status: For any Radisson Hotel overnight guest(s) to be eligible for tax-exempt status, (1) the room must be paid for directly by the guest’s government agency, either with a check or credit card, and (2) the guest must provide a copy of the agency’s tax-exempt form. Tax-exempt status is not granted for rooms paid for by the individual, even if getting reimbursed.

Hotel Cancellation Policy: You may cancel with a full refund up to 72 hours prior to arrival. Cancellations received within 72 hours or arrival will forfeit one (1) night room and tax.

Podcast 83 team reviews legislative action on state spending, NACo activities

In their regular weekly episode, MAC’s Podcast 83 team discussed the following news involving county governments in Michigan:

Legislative passage of a billion-dollar spending plan for economic development
Activity from the 2023 National Association of Counties conference in Washington, D.C., in February
Litigation involving fees charged by Michigan trial courts
Podcast host Stephan Currie’s visit to the Upper Peninsula for the 2023 Continental Cup ski jump competition in Dickinson County

See the full video, recorded on March 6.

Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.

And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.

Audio versions of Podcast 83 also are now available via the Spotify app.

Participation forms for opioid settlements coming soon

Local governments will be given an opportunity to participate in national Opioid Settlements with Teva, Allergan, CVS and Walmart. Collectively, these settlements are expected to bring in around $450 million to Michigan and will have the same allowable uses of funds as the J&J and Distributors settlements.

To participate in these settlements, counties must complete a participation form and return the form by April 18. County governments should expect to receive the participation email no later than Tuesday, March 14. The participation forms will be sent in a single email and will use Docusign. The form can be signed electronically or signed physically, scanned and emailed back.

We encourage all counties to participate in these additional settlements.

For more information on this issue, contact Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

MAC releases templates to assist with opioid settlement planning

MAC has created supplemental documents to the Michigan Opioid Settlements Funds Toolkit: A Guide for Local Spending. The new templates being released include:

Spending Plan Template (PDF) (Excel)
- Excel file that outlines what information should be captured for each strategy being funded that will assist with future reporting
PowerPoint Presentation Template (PDF) (PowerPoint)
- PowerPoint file that provides an overview of the opioid settlements, allowable strategies to fund, and areas for input of specific information around strategies the county will be funding
Annual Report Template (PDF) (Word)
- Word file that outlines information that counties can share publicly on an annual basis through their website and with community partners that includes key questions to answer to increase public understanding, process, and transparency
- Additional guidance from national organizations around specific metrics associated with activities are expected to be released later in the year

The National Association of Counties, in partnership with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has also released a quick guide for completing a needs assessment, The Principles Quick Guide to Conducting a Needs Assessment to support counties in understanding community needs and assisting in tailoring services to meet those needs.

If you have specific template documents that you would like created, or questions, please contact MAC’s Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

Act by March 14 on ‘ROBIN’ broadband grants

Grant applications for the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) program are due by 4 p.m. on March 14. Almost $240 million is available for “last mile” and “middle mile” infrastructure for communities who partner with an internet service provider. The infrastructure must be used to expand broadband in unserved areas.

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) will evaluate the applications and release funds in late spring or early summer 2023; all funds must be expended by 2026. For more information on the ROBIN program, please follow this link.

The ROBIN program is just the first of two major federal investments in broadband expansion. MIHI is currently in the data collection phase of administering the second program: Broadband Access, Equity, and Deployment Act (BEAD), a whopping $1.6 billion for unserved and underserved communities.

The MIHI team continues to travel across the state this winter and spring as part of its MI Connected Future Listening Tour gathering input from the public. They visited Lapeer and Marysville earlier this week and will be in Bad Axe on March 14. Please find a complete list of upcoming tour locations here.

For more information on MAC’s broadband policy work, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

ARP reporting portal will open on April 1, NACo advises

The National Association of Counties issued the following alert on Thursday:

“Here’s an update from the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding new reporting requirements for the upcoming Project and Expenditure (P&E) Report due April 30, 2023, for the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. The portal will not open until April 1, 2023, for counties to submit their P&E Reports. These updates apply to all counties unless a county allocated its entire ARPA allocation towards the $10 million revenue loss standard allowance.

“The P&E Report updates include:

Unique Entity ID Requirements for Subrecipients and Contractors: All subrecipients and contractors are required to have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) and have that number included as part of the reporting process. The UEI is the replacement for the previously used DUNS numbers, and they are issued by SAM.gov. While this requirement is not new, starting in April 2023’s P&E Report the report form will now return an error when no valid UEI is provided when creating new Subrecipient or Contractor entities. This was previously not explicitly required, but strongly urged by Treasury.
1. Treasury has stated that for the April 2023 P&E reporting form, if a pre-existing subrecipient or contractor record does not have a UEI, the system will simply flag it as a warning but not prevent them from submission of the entire P&E report.
2. However, ANY NEW subrecipient or contractor records will be required to have their UEIs provided and they cannot create those entities without one.
3. Treasury has stated they DO NOT KNOW how long they will be able to keep this flexibility available after April 2023 so counties should get their UEIs together ASAP.
New Subaward/Direct Payments Entity Type: All Subawards/Direct Payments records will be required to have an “entity type” selected before a subaward can be created. This field will capture whether the entity receiving the award or payment is a Subrecipient, Contractor, or Beneficiary. If a county attempts to create a new subaward for a subrecipient without a populated entity type field will result in an error.

“For more information, go to Treasury’s Recipient Compliance and Reporting Guidance page.”

CRC webinar analyzes Michigan budget situation

The nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, in partnership with the MIRS News Service, hosted a webinar to break down Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s fiscal year 2024 budget and the state’s financial situation.

MAC is a longtime supporter of the council’s work and encourages members to check out the webinar video or slides.

To watch the video, click here.

To review the slides, click here.

Governor appoints Kent commissioner, MAC director to housing panel

A Kent County commissioner and the executive director of MAC were included in appointments by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Statewide Housing Partnership.

David Bulkowski, of Grand Rapids, is a commissioner for Kent County and serves as executive director at the Disability Advocates of Kent County. He is appointed to represent community development or advocacy organizations that provide services or housing to families or support other organizations who do.

Stephan W. Currie is executive director of Michigan Association of Counties and serves as a member of the Horizon Bank Advisory Board of Directors. He is appointed to represent local government, which might include representatives from county or municipal government associations.

Last year, Whitmer signed Executive Order 2022-10 establishing the Statewide Housing Partnership. Its primary responsibility is to develop a strategy to implement the Michigan Statewide Housing Plan released in 2022 and make recommendations to MSHDA on how best to achieve its goals. The plan presented opportunities for organizations to partner on common objectives, including rehabilitating and stabilizing the housing supply, reducing equity gaps and homelessness and increasing home energy efficiency and weatherization.

The new Statewide Housing Partnership will lead a coordinated, data-driven, outcome-oriented approach to housing, ensuring that all Michiganders have a safe, affordable place to call home. They will also establish regional consortiums to ensure statewide initiatives build on local efforts whenever possible, and they will keep Michiganders updated on their progress with public-facing communications. The partnership will dissolve on Sept. 6, 2024.

As part of this process, the partnership will hold a facilitated work session to start laying the groundwork for a formal RHP and learn how regional collaboration is key to advancement of the plan. County leaders interested in participating in one of these meetings should go to the registration link.