Around the Dome

by Del Chenault, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Scofes & Associates Consulting, Inc. (S&A)

January 2, 2003

LAME DUCK SESSION

This year, term limits ended a historical number of political careers in Michigan. However, those careers did not end quietly as the legislature created over 720 new public acts, more than any year in Michigan history.

Hundreds of bills were passed during the lame duck session that ended December 13. Governor Engler then spent the remainder of the year reviewing those bills and deciding to either sign them into law or veto them. In fact, Governor Engler continued to act on bills until the very last moments of his administration on New Years Day when he vetoed several bills.

We have reviewed all the bills that passed the legislature during the final session. The following is a list of those bills signed into law by Governor Engler directly impacting BOMA members:

• HB 6501-6502, PA 726-727-The bill extends the Brownfield Redevelopment Finance Act and makes other modifications to the Single Business Tax Credit.
• SB 63, PA 698-The act increases the fees for entering and recording a deed and creates automation funds for the fees.
• HB 5540, PA 677-The bill provides an exemption for unclaimed payroll checks smaller than $100 from the state escheats program.
• SB 1437, PA 623-The bill revises the real estate licensure fee structure and provides for 3 year real estate licenses.
• SB 670, PA 627-The bill clarifies liability for certain construction projects.
• SB 795, PA 650-The bill gives the Department of Natural Resources new powers to sell, lease, or enter into new contracts on bottomlands.
• SB 1499, PA 609-The bill allows public utilities to petition the Public Service Commission for permission to recover costs for anti-terrorism measures.
• SB 1238 (PA 611)-The bill revises the property tax assessment on telecommunications property.
  

IN OTHER LEGISLATIVE NEWS...

Governor Engler signed a package setting up the framework for Michigan's indian tribes to collect a variety of state taxes on tribal land. Under the agreement with the state, six of the state's tribes will collect tobacco, sales and income taxes from non-members on tribal land. Further, the tribes agreed to collect the single business tax for any activity outside the tribal area and from non-member business partners.

A longtime goal of the Engler Administration, the bills represented years of negotiations with the tribes. In the short-term, the agreement is unlikely to produce any large amounts of extra revenue to the state coffers. However, the bills could produce long-term benefits by preventing large companies from locating on tribal lands and operating without paying taxes-a worry of many state leaders.

DARTA

One of Governor Engler's last acts was to veto HB 5467, the bill creating the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority. The veto was a surprise to many as the bills passed with bipartisan support and represented over 2 years of work by many well-respected groups including the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

Under the proposal, DARTA would have overseen the operations of the Detroit Department of Transporation and the suburban SMART system. The bill would have allowed local communities to opt out of the system if they chose. Many suburban legislators vigorously opposed the legislation while city of Detroit lawmakers called it a boon to economic development in the area.

Governor Engler cited the defeat of the charter school expansion bill in the Senate during the December 30 final session as the reason for vetoing the bill. In his veto letter, Governor Engler stated that education and transportation problems in the city needed to be dealt with together and that this proposal only represented a solution for one of those problems.

The legislature is expected to take up the issue again in the new session.

LEGISLATURE RETURNS

The legislature will convene for the 93rd session on January 13. New members will be sworn in on January 8 with the full-time session beginning the next week. We expect a vigorous flurry of activity as the new session begins with dozens of new members and an entirely new slate of committee leaders. Governor Granholm has pledged to meet regularly with legislative leaders with hopes of building bipartisan bridges to promote her agenda.

SK&A will continue to monitor the legislative session very closely and will report any developments to the membership.

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