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Podcast 83 Legislative Update June 4, 2024
With legislative activity largely squelched last week due to
the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, lawmakers return to Lansing this week with lots of budget and policy matters still on their plate.
Podcast 83 host Stephan Currie discussed with guests Deena Bosworth, Madeline Fata and Samantha Gibson what the next "20 to 30 days" will look like at the State Capitol in the latest episode of Podcast 83.
Budgets/revenue sharing
"We are waiting for them to finalize each and every one
of their budgets," Bosworth said, including those that affect MAC's proposal for a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.
Negotiations continue over the differing approaches taken by the House and Senate, with MAC strongly favoring the Senate approach, which would mean a $52 million boost in the first year for counties, Bosworth explained.
County hiring rules
"At a Senate Local Government Committee meeting
tomorrow, they're going to take up House Bill 5203," Bosworth said. MAC is backing an amendment to expand the bill's provisions to allow any county department, not just sheriffs, to rehire retirees without the retiree's benefits being jeopardized. "We know how hard it is for county government right now to hire. And sometimes you need that expertise in different departments to come back and help teach new newer generations of employees. So we're hopeful that that gets moved to the process this week."
Medicaid coverage for jail inmates
"Something we've talked about at length at the policy
summit last December and on this podcast is the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy," said Gibson. The (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) is in the process of applying for what's called the Section 1115 Re-entry Waiver, which would allow county jail inmates, juvenile detention, detainees and then also MDOC inmates to have their uninsured health care costs covered, they would have otherwise been eligible for Medicaid upon incarceration, you're no longer eligible, which as we know, is incredibly costly to counties. MDHHS is in the third step of their six-step process towards applying and implementing the waiver approval. ... So they're chugging along, And there's that $30.5 million proposal in the governor's and House's budget plans to cover the uninsured costs of jail inmates."
Voting regulations
"Something kind of bigger that I do anticipate movement
before they break for the summer is Michigan Voting Rights Act package. We've had some stakeholder meetings with the Senate policy team, and we received new drafts just this morning (June 3). So I do believe that they'll leave the Senate Elections Committee before they break, which is good news," Fata said.
Those bills are meant to codify the federal Voting Rights Act, but the way they were initially written puts a massive burden on our local clerks. And it could potentially expose local governments to some legal challenges and lawsuits. But in stakeholder meetings, I think we've made some great progress to mirror the federal act more closely. So, we've made some progress, and we have to review those drafts more closely. We'll keep you posted on some movement."
Energy siting law
With the pivot of the ballot group Citizens for Local Choice from the 2024 ballot to the 2026 one, counties need to start working on complying with the state law passed in 2023 that encroaches deeply on local control on renewable energy locations:
"For those counties who do handle zoning, if you were holding out hope that this would be successful, unfortunately, come November of this year, that law takes effect," said Fata. "So, you will need to get your plans in order. Sarah Mills and Madeleine Krol from the University of Michigan have put together an excellent article that will be in our June magazine later this month that details the three paths that a local government may take moving forward. So, stay tuned for that."
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By DerekWith legislative activity largely squelched last week due to
the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, lawmakers return to Lansing this week with lots of budget and policy matters still on their plate.
Podcast 83 host Stephan Currie discussed with guests Deena Bosworth, Madeline Fata and Samantha Gibson what the next "20 to 30 days" will look like at the State Capitol in the latest episode of Podcast 83.
Budgets/revenue sharing
"We are waiting for them to finalize each and every one
of their budgets," Bosworth said, including those that affect MAC's proposal for a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.
Negotiations continue over the differing approaches taken by the House and Senate, with MAC strongly favoring the Senate approach, which would mean a $52 million boost in the first year for counties, Bosworth explained.
County hiring rules
"At a Senate Local Government Committee meeting
tomorrow, they're going to take up House Bill 5203," Bosworth said. MAC is backing an amendment to expand the bill's provisions to allow any county department, not just sheriffs, to rehire retirees without the retiree's benefits being jeopardized. "We know how hard it is for county government right now to hire. And sometimes you need that expertise in different departments to come back and help teach new newer generations of employees. So we're hopeful that that gets moved to the process this week."
Medicaid coverage for jail inmates
"Something we've talked about at length at the policy
summit last December and on this podcast is the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy," said Gibson. The (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) is in the process of applying for what's called the Section 1115 Re-entry Waiver, which would allow county jail inmates, juvenile detention, detainees and then also MDOC inmates to have their uninsured health care costs covered, they would have otherwise been eligible for Medicaid upon incarceration, you're no longer eligible, which as we know, is incredibly costly to counties. MDHHS is in the third step of their six-step process towards applying and implementing the waiver approval. ... So they're chugging along, And there's that $30.5 million proposal in the governor's and House's budget plans to cover the uninsured costs of jail inmates."
Voting regulations
"Something kind of bigger that I do anticipate movement
before they break for the summer is Michigan Voting Rights Act package. We've had some stakeholder meetings with the Senate policy team, and we received new drafts just this morning (June 3). So I do believe that they'll leave the Senate Elections Committee before they break, which is good news," Fata said.
Those bills are meant to codify the federal Voting Rights Act, but the way they were initially written puts a massive burden on our local clerks. And it could potentially expose local governments to some legal challenges and lawsuits. But in stakeholder meetings, I think we've made some great progress to mirror the federal act more closely. So, we've made some progress, and we have to review those drafts more closely. We'll keep you posted on some movement."
Energy siting law
With the pivot of the ballot group Citizens for Local Choice from the 2024 ballot to the 2026 one, counties need to start working on complying with the state law passed in 2023 that encroaches deeply on local control on renewable energy locations:
"For those counties who do handle zoning, if you were holding out hope that this would be successful, unfortunately, come November of this year, that law takes effect," said Fata. "So, you will need to get your plans in order. Sarah Mills and Madeleine Krol from the University of Michigan have put together an excellent article that will be in our June magazine later this month that details the three paths that a local government may take moving forward. So, stay tuned for that."