Revenue Sharing Trust Fund bills get unanimous backing of key Senate committee
In a significant step forward for county government funding in Michigan, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously voted Thursday to advance Senate Bills 559, 561 and 912 — legislation designed to strengthen and stabilize statutory revenue sharing for counties and other local units of government.
The vote marks a major milestone for MAC, which has made securing a sustainable and protected revenue sharing model its top legislative priority for years.
The vote continues strong bipartisan momentum around revenue sharing reform. Similar legislation passed out of the Michigan House during the previous legislative session with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Revenue sharing was originally established as part of a foundational agreement between the state of Michigan and its local governments. In exchange for giving up certain taxing authority, counties and other local entities were promised a share of state revenue to help fund essential public services.
Over time, however, that partnership has become strained. While state revenues have grown, statutory revenue sharing has not kept pace. This imbalance has placed increasing pressure on county budgets, limiting their ability to maintain and expand services in response to growing community needs.
Counties rely on statutory revenue sharing as one of their few sources of flexible, unrestricted funding. These dollars are critical for supporting core services such as public safety, court operations, health and human services, and infrastructure. Although every county operates under the same state and federal mandates, each must allocate resources based on its unique local priorities and challenges.
Senate Bills 559, 561, and 912 aim to address these challenges through a structural reform of revenue sharing. The legislation would dedicate a portion of the state’s sales tax to statutory revenue sharing and ensure those funds are used exclusively for that purpose.
This approach is designed to achieve two key objectives:
- Create a sustainable, growing revenue source that tracks with the overall growth in state revenue, helping counties keep pace with rising costs and service demands; and
- Protect revenue sharing funds from diversion to other state priorities, preserving the integrity of the original agreement between the state and local governments.
Stable and predictable funding allows counties to plan effectively, deliver services efficiently, and respond to the needs of their residents.
The bills now move to the full Senate for consideration.
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
House Republicans introduce sweeping property tax reform package
Michigan House Republicans on April 22 introduced a broad property tax reform package — House Bills 5872-80 — aimed at reshaping how property is taxed across the state. The nine-bill package proposes significant changes that would affect homeowners, businesses, utilities, and local governments alike.
While the proposals are being positioned as tax relief and modernization efforts, early analysis indicates substantial fiscal implications for counties and other local units of government — particularly due to the absence of clearly defined, guaranteed reimbursement mechanisms for lost revenue.
Eliminating the ‘pop-up’ tax
A central component of the package is the elimination of the residential “pop-up” tax. Under current law, when a property is sold, its taxable value resets to match its current market value — often resulting in a noticeable increase in property taxes for the new owner.
HBs 5872-80 would eliminate this reset, allowing taxable values to continue growing at capped rates regardless of a sale. While this change would provide predictability and relief for home buyers, it would also slash future property tax growth for local governments.
Notably, the legislation does not include a stated mechanism to reimburse local governments for the resulting loss in revenue.
Expanding Personal Property Tax exemptions
The package includes a sweeping expansion of the Personal Property Tax (PPT) exemption. It would eliminate taxes on all equipment, including utility equipment that is not currently exempt under Michigan law. The bills will not take effect, however, unless the bills requiring the corresponding lowering of utility rates are enacted.
This represents a major policy shift. PPTs have historically been a key revenue source for local governments, particularly in communities with significant industrial or utility infrastructure.
To offset these losses, the package has a new funding model: revenue from a newly created tax on services would be deposited into a dedicated fund. These dollars would be distributed first to the School Aid Fund, with remaining funds allocated to counties and other local governments. Included in the reimbursement model is a proposed 3 percent increase in the reimbursement going forward. However, questions remain about the adequacy, stability and long-term reliability of this approach. The prioritization of the School Aid Fund also raises concerns about whether local governments would be made whole. If there is adequate funding for this reimbursement, and the revenue exceeds the model in the bill, all additional funds would transfer to the state’s General Fund. …
Michigan House advances FY 2027 budget; Senate moves its plan to floor
Both chambers of the Michigan Legislature advanced budget bills this week in Lansing, an encouraging sign that negotiations for the final scope of the fiscal 2027 budget are progressing.
The House and Senate proposals reflect their respective priorities and funding approaches, setting the stage for further discussion and compromise in the months ahead. One area already generating discussion is the use of the state’s “rainy day fund,” formally known as the Budget Stabilization Fund. Policymakers continue to debate how much — if any — of these reserves should be used to support ongoing or one-time expenditures. These conversations are expected to evolve as revenue projections become clearer after the May 15 Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference.
Until that information is released, the figures included in both the House and Senate proposals should be viewed as preliminary.
After May 15, budget leaders from both chambers will continue negotiations to reconcile differences between their respective plans.
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Feds delay compliance deadline on digital access for Americans with Disabilities Act
Counties and others now have more time to comply with federal rules on digital access for persons with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week.
The delay is for one year for the two groups based on population:
- Counties with 50,000+ in population: April 24, 2027
- Counties below 50,000 in population: April 26, 2028
For additional information on this issue, the National Association of Counties offers an ADA Compliance Kit.
Also, attendees of the 2026 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference will hear from a representative of the Michigan Treasury Department on Monday, April 27 on web compliance matters. To learn more about the conference, check out the conference program. Online registration has closed, but county leaders can register in person at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Lansing starting at noon on April 27.
Podcast 83: House budgets look promising, but there’s a long way to go in Lansing
With the Legislature back from spring break, attention in Lansing has turned to budgets, reports MAC’s Podcast 83 in a new episode.
“We’re starting to see some movement on budgets, in a significantly earlier time frame, I would say, than last year,” said host Stephan Currie, “which, fingers crossed, is a good sign to getting a budget agreement done maybe earlier than last year (when the budget work extended into October).”
“Steve, I love your optimism,” replied Deena Bosworth, MAC’s governmental affairs director.
“They’re both starting to move budgets for fiscal 2027 already in April, but that’s prior to the May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (on May 15),” she continued. “So, do they know how much money they have? I don’t think that they do. …
“But for us, it’s an increase in statutory revenue sharing (of $19.8 million). It’s an increase in the Public Safety Trust Fund dollars (of $2.5 million), which we’re very happy to see … in a year where we were expecting flat or perhaps even cuts. We’re happy to see that they’re prioritizing local governments in the House.
“But I’m not quite sure how long that’s going to last. They still have to go through the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, and they’ve got to negotiate with the Senate,” Bosworth explained.
“On the Senate side, I am anticipating a flat revenue sharing recommendation … But what I have been told and assured is that they’re going to vote on our Revenue Sharing Trust Fund bills, Senate Bills 559-561.
“And what those bills do is tie our statutory revenue sharing to a percentage of the state sales tax. If the state sales tax goes up, for example this year, we expect it to go up by 10 percent, and our revenue sharing will go up by 10 percent,” she said.
To learn more, including a MAC staffing change, watch the complete episode, recorded on April 17, by clicking here or on the image above.
MAC to recognize 23 commissioner academy ‘graduates’ at Legislative Conference
The Michigan Association of Counties will recognize 23 county commissioners from across Michigan for their “Year 1 Certification” in County Commissioner Academy (CCA) next week.
Commissioners will be presented with a certificate of their accomplishment by MAC Board President Antoinette Wallace of Macomb County during Tuesday, April 28 session of the 2026 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference in Lansing. (Graduates who could not attend will have their certificates mailed to them.)
County Commissioner Academy was started by MAC in 2019 as a professional development program for commissioners incorporating a series of events and workshops focused on the day-to-day responsibilities of a Michigan county commissioner.
Commissioners earn “credits” by participating in MAC conferences, webinars and other special briefings by such partners as Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan Department of Treasury.
For more information on the academy, including a complete list of graduates, click here.
Staff picks
- Small grants made a big difference in rural Michigan. Then the money stopped (Bridge Michigan)
- Michigan’s income tax: Where does the money go? (Citizens Research Council of Michigan)
- Justice Department demands Michigan county turn over 2024 ballots (NBC News)
- 8 cool images from the Mangrove Photography Awards (Popular Science)