Legislative Update 1-10-25
MAC accepting applications for internal policy committees
County commissioners are encouraged to apply now for MAC’s five standing committees for 2025. Applications are due by Jan. 31, 2025. To apply, please email a completed application form to Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
To ensure continuity, commissioners who served on committees in 2024 and attended at least three meetings have been contacted to confirm their interest in continuing. New applicants are encouraged to apply, as MAC strives to maintain balanced regional representation across all committees. MAC’s president appoints all committee members.
MAC’s standing committees play a critical role in shaping the association’s policy platform and legislative advocacy. Each committee meets approximately six times per year, with the option for members to participate remotely via Zoom. Meetings will begin in February 2025.
The work of MAC depends heavily on the diverse perspectives and expertise of our member counties. Ensuring representation from every county across Michigan strengthens our policy positions and enhances our ability to effectively advocate for counties’ interests at the State Capitol and with federal officials.
Through input from these committees, the MAC Board of Directors develops legislative policies that address the unique needs and challenges facing Michigan’s counties. Your voice and expertise are vital to this process.
Committee overview
Finance and General Government (meets the 1st Friday at 10 a.m.)
Focuses on property tax revenue, property tax assessments, special millages, county revenue sharing, and government operational issues such as the Open Meetings Act, FOIA and zoning.
Environmental, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Tourism (meets the 2nd Friday at 10 a.m.)
Covers issues related to mining, state and federal land acquisitions, PILT, solid waste management, water quality, energy, conservation and tourism.
Health and Human Services (meets the 4th Monday at 10 a.m.)
Addresses prevention and treatment initiatives for mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, veterans, aging programs and disease prevention.
Judiciary and Public Safety (meets the 4th Monday at 2 p.m.)
Reviews policies and legislation on court system operations, 9-1-1 funding, juvenile justice, indigent defense, sheriff department issues and prisoner re-entry programs.
Transportation and Infrastructure (meets the 4th Friday at 10 a.m.)
Oversees the operation and funding of Michigan’s transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges, ports, and ORV trails.
Future unclear on legislation to alter health insurance rules
The future of House Bill 6058, which amends the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Act, is now mired in uncertainty, raising significant questions for local governments and the broader legislative process in Michigan. Passed during the 2024 lame-duck session, the bill has not yet been sent to the governor — a situation that could lead to the first legal challenge of the new legislative term.
HB 6058 aimed to address rising health care costs by adjusting the hard cap on employer contributions to employee health insurance. MAC supported an increase in the hard cap, recognizing that health care costs are climbing faster than current inflationary measures can account for. However, the bill’s proposed mechanism has critical flaws that make its implementation problematic:
- Flawed Inflationary Mechanism:
HB 6058 ties the hard cap increases to the medical care component of the Department of Financial and Insurance Services (DFIS)-approved rate increases.
This metric, however, is not reported separately by insurance companies, making it nearly impossible to calculate.
Previously, adjustments were tied to the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes pharmaceutical costs, already a major driver of escalating health care expenses.
- Mandatory 80 percent floor:
The bill mandates that the 80 percent employer contribution becomes the minimum floor for health insurance cost-sharing, limiting flexibility for local governments to manage their budgets effectively.
Currently, local governments have three options under the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Act:
- Stay within the hard cap for how much the employer pays.
- Opt for an 80/20 split between employer and employee.
- Opt out of the act entirely through a resolution of the local governing board.
While MAC supported adjustments to the hard cap, the impracticality of the inflationary mechanism in HB 6058 complicates its utility.
In a surprising move, incoming House Speaker Matt Hall has decided not to send HB 6058 to the governor for signature, despite its passage in both chambers and being ordered enrolled. MAC is unaware of any precedent where an incoming speaker has withheld a bill from the governor after passage.
This decision raises several questions:
- Does the Speaker have the authority to block the presentation of an enrolled bill to the Governor?
- What precedent does this set for future legislative actions?
This could be the first legal battle of the new legislative term as stakeholders seek clarity on the speaker’s powers and the fate of HB 6058.
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org
Forecasters: Legislators will have more money to spend in FY26 budget
Michigan legislators will have about $15.5 billion in General Fund revenue to use for the fiscal 2026 budget, economic and budget experts said Friday in the first Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) of 2025.
These conferences are required by statute to determine the state of Michigan’s financial resources as lawmakers draft annual budgets, including spending areas that are critical to county needs, such as revenue sharing.
As recently as fiscal 2017, the state General Fund was only $10 billion, so this year’s projections continue a sustained renaissance in state resources.
The Legislature will begin its budget work in earnest in February when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presents her Executive Budget recommendations. The next revenue conference, in May 2025, will set the final numbers available for spending for the FY26 state budget, which is supposed to be finished, by statute, by June 30.
For more information on MAC’s budget advocacy, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Speaker Hall announces new committees, removal of local government committee
House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo) announced committees for the 2025-2026 term this week and has removed the longstanding House Local Government Committee.
It remains to be seen what this means for local government advocacy in the Legislature in the upcoming term. Legislation that would typically be referred to the local government committee will now be referred to specific policy areas, i.e., finance, tax policy, transportation, etc. This will allow House members to review bills impacting local government through the lens of their specific policy areas of expertise and/or interest. MAC, as always, will continue to advocate to legislators the importance of local control.
Speaker Hall also established a new committee, the Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses, focused solely on addressing tipped wage and earned sick time legislation. Rep. Ken Borton (R-Otsego), a former MAC Board president, will serve as Majority vice chair on the committee, and Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Tuscola), another former MAC Board President, is a member of the committee.
MAC is working alongside other stakeholders and lawmakers to ensure counties can provide paid leave to employees without undue financial burden onto the taxpayer.
For more information on this issue, please contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Webinar to guide counties on prepping for broadband funding
On Jan. 30, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) will host a webinar for local officials on “How Local Governments Can Prepare for BEAD Funding.”
The webinar will run from1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Click here to register.
“With $1.559 billion allocated to support broadband development in Michigan through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Act, the state of Michigan’s High-Speed Internet Office’s (MIHI) is focused on expanding high-speed internet to over 238,000 underserved locations across the state. This presents a unique opportunity to build lasting digital infrastructure, improve affordability, and enhance digital literacy for Michigan residents.
“This funding is important for encouraging economic development, entrepreneurship and public participation. Local governments are encouraged to collaborate on applications or work with providers to ensure local needs are met. All applicants must pre-register before March 10 and funding application must be submitted by April 9, 2025.
“This interactive webinar will provide an overview of BEAD, the application process, and how local governments can prepare to apply or partner with providers. It is targeted to elected officials, administrators, community and economic development professionals, and education and business partners.”
Learn more about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program
Questions? Contact Naheed Huq, Manager, SEMCOG Economic and Community Vitality, at 313 324-3356.
MAC still has OMA booklets available
MAC continues to offer booklets explaining the dos and don’ts of Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.
Printed in partnership with the firm of Cohl, Stoker and Toskey, P.C., the booklets can be obtained in small quantities (up to 20 per county) by contacting Communications Director Derek Melot at melot@micounties.org.
MAC also has posted a digital version of the booklet to our website.
Next Treasury webinar to address F65 Update, Numbered Letters
The Michigan Department of Treasury is pleased to announce its next Chart Chat webinar at 2 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2025. The Chart Chat webinar series provides local governments with critical information related to accounting and auditing topics, measuring local government fiscal health, and other important updates.
To submit questions or register, click here.
Topics covered will include:
- Numbered Letters and F65 Update
- Qualifying Statements
- Retirement Reporting (PA 202 of 2017)
Presentations and recordings from this webinar, along with previous webinars, can be found at TREASURY – BLGSS Learning Center. For support related to Treasury’s local government services, visit TREASURY – Contact Information.
Staff picks
- Feds fine Baker College $2.5 million for deceptive marketing that left students with debts and regrets (ProPublica)
- Biden signs burial benefits bill inspired by Michigan veteran (Detroit News)
- Feds still aren’t fully backing satellite for BEAD grants (RouteFifty)
- Counties try to keep data center development in bounds (NACo County News)
