Podcast 83: ‘Significant’ comment by House speaker on property taxes discussed
Comments by House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo) about his 2026 priorities were a focus of this week’s episode of Podcast 83.
“The biggest one that affects our members the most is Speaker Hall is talking about property tax reform,” said Deena Bosworth.
“We don’t know what this looks like. We don’t know if he’s talking about elimination of property taxes with a replacement of some kind of mechanism. We don’t know if he’s talking about getting rid of just a certain number of mills, like the state education tax, and then replacing it with something else. …
“You’ve got certain groups out there who are advocating for the elimination of property taxes. You’ve got other states that are looking at significant property tax reform. So, it isn’t a new conversation, but the fact that he’s making it a priority, and one of his priorities is significant. …
“The case that we (at MAC) will be making out there when they’re talking about this reform is, no. 1, Michigan’s property tax system is extremely restrictive. We are capped by increases of 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. We are required to do Headlee rollbacks, unless you have to go to the voters and get an override on it. …
“So whatever replacement mechanism is out there has to be able to be locally controlled, locally managed and provide enough money to actually supplement whatever is going to be taken away from property tax revenue.”
Other topics discussed in the episode include:
- Initial projections for state General Fund revenue for the fiscal 2027 budget point to a “flat” budget compared to the current FY26 one: “For the most part, what that means is likely a flat budget, not a whole lot of extra spending or extra legislative-directed spending,” Bosworth said.
- The legal wrangling over “work project” funding involving House leadership, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Senate appropriators: “In early December, the House Appropriations Committee cut about $645 million in work project funding,” said Samantha Gibson. “At the request of Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony, Nessel weighed in, deeming it unconstitutional.
“The House Republicans appealed that opinion by the attorney general. It’s in the Court of Claims right now,” Gibson continued. “Last Friday morning was the first day of oral arguments in the case, and the judge in the Court of Claims issued a preliminary injunction. So, for now, the portion of funds (not already encumbered), which seems to be around 30 percent of that $645 million, is blocked.”
Watch the full episode, recorded on Jan. 20, by clicking here or on the image above.
Briefing on rural health plan sparks committee discussion on what is ‘rural’
A state plan to use federal funds to bolster financially struggling health facilities in rural Michigan was reviewed before the House Appropriations Committee this week.
The Rural Health Transformation Program will be based on federal funds from “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed last summer, which sparked major concerns among health leaders about their finances.
Michigan received $173 million for this work in fiscal 2026, the first of up to five distributions from the federal government through fiscal 2030.
As part of a “long-term transformation effort,” the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said there would be a competitive grant process, in which local county health departments could participate.
Discussion among committee members quickly centered on eligibility and geography. MDHHS’ approach identifies 75 counties as at least partially rural, including Wayne County. Legislators raised concerns that labeling larger counties as “partially rural” could create competition between populous counties and more remote communities for limited resources.
For counties and local partners, the immediate next step is checking with the state for eligibility criteria, timelines and scoring priorities as the program advances.
For more information on this issue, contact Jimmy Johnson at Johnson@micounties.org.
Apply by Feb. 4 for ‘Plant Award’ grants for environmental work
The Consumers Energy Foundation is now accepting Letters of Intent for the 2026 Planet Awards, the Foundation’s signature environmental grant program. Letters of Intent are due Feb. 4, 2026. Click here to submit.
Each year, the Planet Awards program provides $500,000 in grant funding to Michigan nonprofits, municipalities and educational institutions committed to environmental stewardship and improving the quality of life for communities across the state. The Planet Awards are the first of three-signature grant funding opportunities, totaling $1.5 million that the foundation provides each year.
Past recipients include the cities of Eastpointe and Parchment and Michigan State University.
Eligible organizations include:
- Michigan-based nonprofits
- Municipalities and public agencies
- Educational institutions
Projects must focus on one or more of the following:
- Land preservation or restoration
- Water quality improvement
- Air quality improvement
Staff picks
- Marquette County moving forward with plans to take over fixed based operations at Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport (WLUC-TV)
- To boost electric grid, states look to advanced transmission technologies (Pew Trusts)
- Growing focus on data centers (Our American States podcast)
- Exploding Trees: Can this really happen during a winter deep freeze? (MLive)