Legislative Update 12-13-24

Written by Derek Melot on December 13, 2024. Posted in Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

Senate passes minimum staffing legislation

A bill to require minimum staffing levels as a mandatory subject of collective bargaining between a public employer and the representative of its employees was passed out of the Senate this week, after the House version was successfully removed from the House floor agenda in November due to MAC’s efforts.

Senate Bill 1167, by Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D-Macomb), an identical bill to House Bill 4688, by Rep. Jim Haadsma (D-Calhoun), would amend the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) and specifies that “other terms and conditions of employment” would include minimum staffing levels within the bargaining unit and consider minimum staffing levels a condition of employment with respect to a bargaining representative’s collective bargaining responsibilities. SB 1167 and HB 4688 would limit its application to only Public Act 312 employees, which was recently expanded to include corrections officers.

Making minimum staffing levels a mandatory topic of collective bargaining could increase staffing costs to counties. In addition to the potential for increased costs, many counties are facing staffing shortages. Implementing minimum staffing requirements when local governments are struggling to maintain fully staffed facilities will add to the difficulties counties already face when recruiting and retaining employees.

MAC opposes this legislation, as do the Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Townships Association. A letter of opposition was shared with Senate Labor
Committee members last week and was sent to all House members in November.

MAC strongly encourages members to contact their legislators and inform them of the detrimental effects of this bill.

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

Health insurance bills pass the Senate

An attempt to reform state law on employer contributions to health insurance programs was passed out of the Senate in the early morning hours of Dec. 13. Senate Bills 1129–30, by Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-Macomb), would raise the hard cap on what employers could pay for publicly funded health insurance, but would also mandate that the employer pay a minimum of 80 percent of the premiums.

MAC supports the increase in the hard cap so long as it stays a cap and not a floor. MAC is opposed to the versions of the bills that mandate certain spending by creating a floor for what the employer must pay.

House Bill 6058, by Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Macomb), is still in the House and is a much more expensive option for the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act, commonly known as PA 152 of 2011. The House bill would increase the employer contribution to employee health insurance and significantly increase the number of items and groups that can bargain for additional contributions.

PA 152 was enacted to curb rising health care costs, while fostering shared responsibility between employees and employers. It offered counties three cost-sharing options:

Hard cap: employers contribute up to a legislatively established maximum
80/20 model: Employers pay no more than 80 percent of health plan costs, with employees covering the remaining 20 percent
Opt-out: Counties negotiate health contributions directly with bargaining units, often leading to disparities between employee groups

Most counties have adhered to the hard cap or 80/20 models to avoid costly and contentious negotiations. However, the act’s original inflationary mechanism, tied to the U.S. Consumer Price Index’s medical care component, failed to reflect the true rise in health care costs, especially in areas like prescription drugs. As a result, employees have been burdened with an increasing share of premiums.

HB 6058 introduces changes to address these shortcomings but does so in a way that complicates an already delicate balance between those employee groups represented by a bargaining unit, those groups who enjoy binding arbitration and those groups that do not belong to a bargaining unit.

MAC, instead, advocates for a straightforward and effective fix to PA 152 that respects its original goals:

Hard cap reset: Adjust the hard cap to higher levels reflective of today’s health care costs, easing the financial burden on employees.
Inflationary adjustments: Replace the current inflationary measure with one based on the average health care rate increases approved annually by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. This mechanism would reflect Michigan’s health care realities and ensure the cap keeps pace with rising costs.

This approach would allow employers to contribute more toward health care premiums, alleviating financial strain on employees and maintaining the original law’s intent to control costs and promote fiscal responsibility.

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

Improvements made to septic code legislation

Major improvements have been made to statewide septic code legislation in response to advocacy from MAC and its members. The new proposal would not include the periodic evaluation cycle, and it would allow local governments to keep their point-of-sale ordinances.

The latest draft of Senate Bill 299, by Sen. Sam Singh (D-Ingham), would require only high-risk septic tanks to be inspected in a 10-year window. There is no mandate that they be inspected again. “High-risk” is defined as being within 500 feet of any surface water or within a high-risk erosion area, critical dune or 100-year floodplain.

SB 300, also by Singh, creates a Technical Advisory Committee that will ultimately make a recommendation to the legislature after that initial 10-year window.

The bills passed the Senate along party lines late Thursday night. The bills will need to sit for five days before being heard in the House.

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

Radical revamp of commissioner districts opposed by MAC

Legislation that fundamentally alters how Michigan draws county commissioner districts and determines county board sizes was rushed through the Michigan House this week, despite opposition from MAC and others. MAC was not consulted prior to the introduction of this legislation, and it is seemingly being pushed by labor groups and out-of-state entities.

MAC opposed House Bill 6171, by Rep. Phil Skaggs (D-Kent), in the House Elections Committee on Tuesday. The bill revamps the rules for county apportionment commissions and imposes population tiers governing the maximum and minimum size of boards. Skaggs claims that revamping the system would prevent partisan gerrymandering at the county level, but MAC argues the system is neither broken nor in need of repair.

MAC has long opposed any changes to the way in which commissioner districts are drawn. The Michigan Association of County Clerks also expressed opposition in the committee hearing.

Those in support include a professor from a state university in New York and the Michigan American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

The bill cleared the full House on Friday, but it would need to bypass the committee process on the Senate side in order to advance through the second chamber before this legislative session ends. MAC finds the lack of transparency and stakeholder engagement on this issue extremely troubling.

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

Senate committee approves wrongful conviction legislation

Michigan’s Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act (WICA) offers a wrongfully incarcerated person $50,000 for each year they were in prison. Upon dismissal of charges, or a retrial finding the individual not guilty, the wrongfully incarcerated person can file a WICA claim.

House Bill 5431, by Rep. Joey Andrews (D-Berrien), requires a prosecutor to respond within 60 days to participate in a suit regarding a WICA claim. While MAC supports the goal of ensuring wrongfully incarcerated individuals are made whole by the government, requiring already severely understaffed prosecutor’s offices to respond to claims within 60 days exacerbates overwhelming workloads. HB 5431 would also increase court costs, and as the largest funding source for trial courts, counties cannot be subject to increased costs. MAC is working to require state funding to alleviate this financial burden. HB 5431 would also likely result in the dismantling of county Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs), operated in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties. The ability for a WICA claimant to file suit against the county is cost prohibitive relative to the work that CIUs do to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals. Counties cannot justify the costs of operating CIUs while being exposed to liabilities from those awarded WICA claims.

MAC is working with legislators to alleviate the concerns posed by HB 5431 prior to its passage in the Senate. MAC opposes this legislation as currently written.

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

House approves state participation in emergency transport program

A bill to require Michigan to participate in a federal medical transport program advanced out of the House this week.

House Bill 5695, by Rep. Mike McFall (D-Oakland), requires the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to participate in the federal GEMT reimbursement program. MAC supports HB 5695.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) oversees the Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) program. GEMT provides funding and support to eligible health care providers through state agencies, aiming to ensure that individuals without reliable transportation can access emergency medical care. This program improves access to emergency services for Medicaid beneficiaries, bridging the gap between patients and health care facilities and facilitating timely care during emergencies.

While Michigan doesn’t currently participate in the program, our state has the eighth-highest number of Medicaid enrollees in the nation. Local emergency services and ambulance providers are not fully reimbursed by Medicaid to cover the costs of medical transportation for this significant segment of our communities. The GEMT initiative in Michigan seeks to address health disparities, promote health equity, and reimburse local agencies and emergency services providers for serving vulnerable populations.

A $500,000 appropriation was secured in the FY25 state budget to assist MDHHS in starting up GEMT in Michigan.

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

Senate approves MIDC expansion to youth defense

More than a year after the House approved a bill to expand MIDC to juveniles, the Senate followed suit this week.

HB 4630, by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Jackson), would expand the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission to include development, oversight, and compliance with youth defense standards in local county defense systems. MAC has worked to ensure there would be no increase in the local share for MIDC services, that 40 percent of the total grant amount would be received upfront and that partially indigent reimbursements will remain.

HB 4630 has been sent back to the House for a concurrence vote before going to the governor.

With proper funding upon MIDC creation and LARA approval of relevant standards, MAC supports this legislation.

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

Prisoner productivity credit bills pass Senate

A package to allow certain prisoners to earn productivity credits to reduce their sentence was passed out of the Senate this week.

Senate Bills 861–864 would only apply to future sentences in allowing prisoners to receive productivity credits. Under the legislation, prosecutors are required to notify victims at the time of sentencing that an earlier release date is possible, if the offender completes productivity credits. While completing productivity credits would deem a prisoner eligible for early release, the parole board will still make final decisions regarding release dates, with final discretion remaining with judges and prosecutors.

SBs 861-864 would remove truth-in-sentencing, leaving many victims of crime with uncertainty regarding the minimum sentence their offender would serve.

MAC opposes this legislation, as do the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.

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

Marriage license fee increase passes House

A bill to increase the marriage license fee from $20 to $50, and the additional nonresident fee from $10 to $25, passed out of the House this week.

House Bill 4547, by Rep. Will Snyder (D-Muskegon), also requires $15 of each fee collected to be allocated to the circuit court for family counseling services, which must include counseling for domestic violence and child abuse.

HB 4547 has been sent to the Senate and awaits a vote, potentially next week.

MAC supports this legislation.

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

Bill to expand options for opioid antagonists moves to House floor

Legislation to expand the available options of opioid antagonists to local governments, nonprofits, public safety departments and more was voted out of the House Committee on Health Policy this week.

Senate Bill 542 would allow a government entity that received an opioid antagonist from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) at no cost to choose the formulation, type of delivery service, method of administration, or dosage of the opioid antagonist. The ability to decide on formulation or dosage only applies if the formulation or dosage chosen would not result in a loss of Federal funding.

An opioid antagonist includes naloxone, or any “similar and equally safe” drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of drug overdose.

Counties now can utilize the MDHHS naloxone (an opioid antagonist) portal to access naloxone at no cost. SB 542 expands the type of opioid antagonist available to government entities through the MDHHS portal.

MAC supports SB 542 and efforts to expand resources to counties for reduction, treatment and prevention of the opioid epidemic.

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

State sets Jan. 9 opening for broadband grant applications

Applications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will be accepted starting Jan. 9, 2025, the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) formally announced this week.

MIHI also shared the draft location data that came from the statewide challenge process.

The application period will close on April 9, 2025, and MIHI is encouraging those interested to begin the pre-registration process as soon as possible.

This marks a significant step toward connecting all Michiganders to high-speed internet, which is the ultimate goal of BEAD. Michigan has been allocated $1.559 billion by the federal government to connect more than 238,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses.

The announcement describes BEAD as “a competitive grant program, with applicants proposing projects to deliver reliable, high-speed internet to eligible locations. Successful applicants will receive funding to construct scalable, resilient infrastructure capable of meeting Michigan’s connectivity needs for the next 30 years and beyond.”

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

Mac on the Road: From Northern California to Northern Michigan

Board President Melissa Daub of Wayne and Director Stan Ponstein of Kent attended the National Association of Counties’ “Crossroads Symposium” and NACo Board session in Northern California Dec. 4-7.