Legislature attaches strings to FY22 revenue sharing funds As the Legislature advanced budget bills this week, differences between the House and Senate are injecting some uncertainty into county revenue sharing for fiscal 2022, which starts Oct. 1. The Senate advanced...
U.S. Treasury releases initial guidance on American Rescue Plan aid On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Treasury released its guidance on pre-award requirements, outlining immediate steps counties need to take to receive direct payments from the U.S. Treasury under the...
Push begins for 4-year commissioner terms Initial hearings are possible next week in a Senate committee on a bipartisan pair of bills to enact four-year terms for county commissioners in Michigan. Senate Bill 242, by Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Dickinson), and SB 245, by Sen....
Legislative Roundtable at conference will feature House, Senate leaders A Michigan Counties Legislative Conference always features in-depth briefings on what’s going on in Lansing – and this year’s virtual version is no different. MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie...
Biden promises ‘flexibility’ on county investment funds President Joe Biden said his administration is committed to flexibility in how counties utilize the $65 billion provided directly to them via the recently enacted American Rescue Plan. “County officials have a...
An eight-bill, bipartisan package rewriting the section of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act that governs solid waste planning was passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation this week. The committee, chaired by...
New bipartisan bills introduced for 4-year commissioner terms Through its policy platforms, MAC has long supported moving county commissioner terms to four years from the present two. Legislation to do this made good progress in 2020 but did not reach enactment. We...
How to navigate questions on in-person vs. hybrid vs. digital With state health orders reducing restrictions on indoor gatherings and hospitalization rates showing marked improvement in recent weeks, MAC has been fielding questions from members about moving out of...
Massive federal aid plan wends way through Congress Two versions of a massive federal response to the ongoing COVID crisis are now in play on Capitol Hill. Passage of either version would mean hundreds of millions of dollars for Michigan counties. The version passed...
Senate approves GOP plan on COVID spending In another move over the dispute on how to spend billions in federal COVID aid for Michigan, the Senate approved a $2 billion supplemental spending plan advanced by the Republican majority this week, but not without heated...