Property tax measure opposed by MAC gets House approval
Local taxing units would be required to limit proposals to impose, renew or increase a property tax millage to an election held on the November regular election date under House Bill 4583, by Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Oakland), which gained House approval this week on a 56-50 vote.
HB 4583 says local taxing units affected include counties, cities, villages, townships, school districts, intermediate school districts, community college districts and local authorities.
Limiting the ability for a county government to determine when property tax millages are allowed on the ballot usurps local control. Restricting property tax millages to only the November ballot poses a loss of flexibility for urgent funding needs. Counties may need to place a millage on the ballot quickly to address immediate fiscal or operational needs. If a millage fails in November, the county will have to wait an entire year to try again, instead of potentially using a May or August election.
For all these reasons, MAC opposes HB 4583. The bill now moves to the Senate.
For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
Bill to move state primaries to May passes Senate committee
Legislation to move the August primary election to May was approved by the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee on Wednesday.
Senate Bills 691-698, by lead sponsor Sen. Sam Singh (D-Ingham), would allow a primary election to be held on the February election date, would remove the August primary and require primary elections that would have been in August to be moved to May and direct logistical changes related to candidate filing dates.
SB 691 would alleviate the burdens imposed on election administrators caused by the quick turnaround between the August and November election dates.
MAC is neutral on the legislation. The Michigan Association of County Clerks has indicated support.
For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
House committee OKs expanded use of vehicle inspection fees
Legislation to expand the uses of money derived from vehicle inspection fees advanced in the Michigan House this week.
Under current statute, salvage vehicle inspection fees collected by Michigan law enforcement agencies may only be used for law enforcement purposes related directly to stolen vehicles.
Under House Bill 5234, by Rep. Brian BeGole (R-Shiawassee), governments would have more eligible uses, such as equipment, training and road patrol services that are necessary to protect public health or safety. The bill cleared the House Rules Committee and now moves to the House floor.
MAC supports HB 5234.
For more information, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
House Transportation Committee approves drone regulation bills
A 15-bill package dedicated to regulating drone acquisition and operation by public entities in Michigan (called S.H.I.E.L.D. Michigan) was advanced in the House this week.
House Bills 5319-32, by a bipartisan group of House members led by Rep. William Bruck (R-Monroe), was approved by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
HB 5328, by Rep. Bruck, would prohibit state and local public entities from purchasing or operating drones manufactured by a “company of concern,” particularly a list of Chinese military companies, as listed in the legislation. The bill would prohibit the purchase of a drone from companies of concern after two years of the effective date of the bill and prohibit operating a drone purchased from a company of concern beginning five years after its effective date.
The package now moves to the House floor. MAC is neutral on the legislation.
For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
House committee releases SNAP report to bolster case for legislative changes
SNAP error rates were front and center for the House Oversight Subcommittee on State and Local Assistance Programs this week, which released a report following a nine-month investigation into Michigan’s Food Assistance Program. The review began in March 2025, when the subcommittee launched an effort to take a closer look at how the program is administered.
According to the report, the SNAP error rate in fiscal 2024 was 9.53 percent, putting it at 26th nationwide. If the state cannot bring its number down, Michigan could face a penalty of roughly $320 million under federal law, as it will soon be responsible for a much larger share of SNAP administrative costs, increasing the current split to 75 percent. The report notes much of the information provided by MiBridges applicants is self-reported, with many verification checks happening later in the process rather than up front. The report also points to ongoing fraud involving physical Bridge Cards.
Bills introduced by Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Livingston) would strengthen the verification process at the start of the application by requiring more information up front and reducing the state’s reliance on self-attestation (House Bill 5145), require photo ID and signature verification on Bridge Cards (HB 4515) and address additional SNAP oversight and program integrity measures (HB 4746). Both HB 4515 and HB 4746 have passed the house.
The report comes as Michigan prepares for upcoming federal SNAP changes that will shift more administrative costs to states.
Counties play a limited role in SNAP (mainly hosting state offices and supporting outreach), but they still have a stake in reducing the state’s error rate because, as seen during the 2008-10 recession, when state cuts pushed more residents to county‑funded food banks and local supports. MAC continues to have concerns about this situation due to the potential for higher administrative costs and the downstream effect those costs could have on local governments.
For more information on this issue, contact Jimmy Johnson at Johnson@micounties.org.
Podcast 83: Legislative pace picks up in Lansing; MAC team discusses county impacts
Host Stephan Currie welcomed the MAC team to the newest episode of Podcast 83 with an unusual observation for recent times at the State Capitol:
“They have been busy in Lansing-ish, I guess. There are bills being introduced, committee meetings, hearings and sessions being held. And some voting, I guess we could say.”
“Except for they still have this goal,” Deena Bosworth quipped, “at least the House does, to have the fewest number of bills again this year.”
Among topics addressed in this week’s episode:
Housing regulation: “So, we’ve got all these housing preemption bills,” said Bosworth, “as I’m going to call them, where they’re saying that your zoning has to allow for X, Y and Z, small lot sizes, small buildings, mobile homes everywhere. But they’re not taking into account the stress on the infrastructure for more of those buildings. And so, we may all have priorities … we don’t want to pay much more in taxes. We don’t want to pay assessments. We want better housing stock, smaller entry-level housing stock. But none of that’s going to really work unless you have the infrastructure underneath, so I think it’s going to be a larger conversation, this legislative term, on the value of infrastructure and responsible buildouts.
Legislation to ease rehiring of retired law enforcement personnel: “It’s House Bill 4771. It’s up in the (Government Operations Committee) this week for a vote,” said Deena Bosworth. “The holdup has really been … we were trying to expand this countywide, but at this point, the sheriffs are really kind of pushing us and a little bit desperate to have it done … They don’t mind that it was for other county employees, but we had some pushback from legislators, which stalled it in the process, both last year and this year. So, now we’re kind of backing off, letting it get done for the sheriffs, and we will revisit other countywide employees after that.”
Statewide septic code: “It’s going to be kind of layered based upon what the priority is, so if you’re in a 100-year floodplain, if you are within 500 feet of water or any kind of environmental hazard, that’s going to be moving up towards the top (of the inspection list),” said Jimmy Johnson. “And then at that point, every 10 years, you will be getting looked at.”
Drone regulation: “The intent is to alleviate this concern about Chinese companies that manufacture drones that U.S. law enforcement agencies utilize,” said Samantha Gibson. “(F)rom what I’ve gathered … the U.S. drone market is not able to compete adequately with what the Chinese drone market has to offer. And so, the presidential administration and the Michigan House are trying to advance ways that the U.S. drone market can compete. And part of that is limiting the use of state and local governments for these Chinese drones.”
For more details, check out the full episode, recorded on March 10, by clicking here or on the image above.
Mecosta’s O’Neil passes at age 81
Mecosta County Commissioner Tom O’Neil passed away on March 5, 2026, at the age of 81.
O’Neil lived in Stanwood and was first appointed to the Mecosta Board in April 2016. Beyond the Mecosta Board, O’Neil’s public service included volunteer firefighting service with the Mecosta Township Fire Department, the National Guard, the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Posse and time as a Mecosta Township trustee.
MAC extends its condolences to O’Neil’s family, friends and Mecosta County colleagues.
2026 MAC directories headed to mailboxes statewide
The 2026 MAC Member Directory, the only publication that provides county elected officials’ information for all 83 counties in a single place, is finished, being mailed to commissioners, and other county officials around the state.
In addition to individual county pages, the 136-page directory provides helpful information about MAC’s services and on the Michigan Legislature.
Those receiving hard copies should note the access credentials for the digital version are found on the printed Table of Contents page. To access the digital version, visit micounties.org or click here.
If you see incorrect information on your county’s page in the directory, alert melot@micounties.org. The digital version will be updated quarterly throughout the year.
MAC also has a small number of directories available for sale, priced at $40. For purchasing, contact melot@micounties.org.
Are you ready for National County Government Month 2026?
National County Government Month (NCGM), held each April, is a celebration of county government. Since 1991, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has encouraged counties to use this month of recognition to actively promote our roles and responsibilities in serving residents.
Join NACo and MAC in celebrating NCGM in 2026! Counties can schedule activities any time during the month. To assist you, NACo has provided:
- Featured celebrations from counties in past years.
- A toolkit, including template press releases, sample social media posts, graphics and logos, educational resources and more. The toolkit is broken into three sections, each including outreach resources relevant to that section and county examples to inspire your participation plans.
Please be sure to share your NCGM activities with MAC (melot@micounties.org) so we can feature them in MAC communications.
‘Fiscally Ready’ webinar will focus on capital asset planning
The next Fiscally Ready Communities training opportunity will be March 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. This free training, co-sponsored by MSU Extension and Michigan Treasury, is designed to assist appointed and elected officials with entry and intermediate level budgeting knowledge.
Capital Asset Management and Planning
Recurring annual expenses are simple to budget, but the repair and replacement of big-ticket items can be much more difficult. A Capital Improvement Program (CIP) will help your local government organize those major projects and forecast the expenses to make long-term planning simpler. This session will cover the basics of a CIP, best practices, and give participants a chance to share techniques that have worked for their community, as well as policies, procedures, and accounting for capital asset management and planning.
For more information about Fiscally Ready Communities, visit the Fiscally Ready Communities webpage. This webpage includes Treasury’s 32-page Fiscally Ready Communities Best Practices document, which we encourage all local officials to review.
If you have any questions, email TreasLocalGov@michigan.gov with the subject line “Fiscally Ready.”
Staff picks
- Lansing gridlock jeopardizes licenses for 8K Michigan doctors (Bridge Michigan)
- What’s behind the contract dispute between Blue Cross and Michigan Medicine (Crain’s Detroit)
- Consumers warns dams could be decommissioned if $1 sales don’t go through (9&10 News)
- Ontonagon and Dickinson County courts receive Operation Drive program grant awards (Keweenaw Report)