Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Podcast 83 Legislator Spotlight February 3, 2026
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Podcast 83 Legislator Spotlight February 3, 2026
Host: Deena Bosworth:
Guests: Rep. Steve Frisbie, Samantha Gibson and Jimmy Johnson of MAC
Topics: Expect to see a great deal of discussion on property tax changes in 2026 but maybe not any action, said Rep. Steve Frisbie (R-Calhoun) in the latest “Legislator Spotlight” episode of Podcast 83.
Frisbie is now in his first term from the 44th House District after serving more than a decade on the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners.
Asked by host Deena Bosworth about House Speaker Matt Hall’s (R-Kalamazoo) recent comments on property tax legislation, Frisbie replied:
"What really started the whole conversation (in Lansing) was the Ax Mi Tax, movement. Not sure that's going to actually make it to the ballot with signatures, but it really did stimulate more conversation among the members in the (Republican) caucus about what could we do to make home and land ownership a heck of a lot easier for folks.
"The consistent message is, you know, it feels like we never own our property, we never own our home, that we're, you know, a couple of years away from no payment, of taxes for not having anything. So, I think Prop A was designed to, you know, kind of cap the growth and limit what was going on back in the day, but we've seen such tremendous growth in values that when homes are sold, and those property taxes come uncapped, there's tremendous growth in taxes. And that's led to a couple problems. No 1: people paying a lot higher taxes than they anticipated. And no. 2, it's contributed to this housing shortage, in that the natural evolution of a family was you start off with a starter house, you started having kids, you got a forever house, allegedly, and then your kids all moved out, and you were living in a 3- or 4- or 5-bedroom home with no kids. It's like, we don't need this. Let's downsize. Well, now you downsize, and you're going to have to go purchase property that's uncapped as well. So, it just creates this whole vacuum of, I can't afford to keep my house (and) I can't afford to sell my house and buy a new house. So, I think it really helps contribute to the shortage of housing stock ...
"But from (the government side), how do we continue to fund government, especially at the local level, without creating harm? So, I don't think there's a specific plan that I've seen yet. Just a lot of chatter about uncapping and those kinds of things that we've already talked about. So, I think you'll see some kind of plan. ... Honestly, I would be shocked if it made it all the way through and is signed by the governor in this term, but it sets a pathway of which way we want to head as a caucus."
Frisbie also spoke on:
· Establishment of a Public Safety Trust Fund in 2025
· Positive impacts of specialty courts, such as the sobriety court in Calhoun County
· The need to "balance" funding between prosecutors and public defenders
See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606
Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org
View all episodes
By DerekHost: Deena Bosworth:
Guests: Rep. Steve Frisbie, Samantha Gibson and Jimmy Johnson of MAC
Topics: Expect to see a great deal of discussion on property tax changes in 2026 but maybe not any action, said Rep. Steve Frisbie (R-Calhoun) in the latest “Legislator Spotlight” episode of Podcast 83.
Frisbie is now in his first term from the 44th House District after serving more than a decade on the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners.
Asked by host Deena Bosworth about House Speaker Matt Hall’s (R-Kalamazoo) recent comments on property tax legislation, Frisbie replied:
"What really started the whole conversation (in Lansing) was the Ax Mi Tax, movement. Not sure that's going to actually make it to the ballot with signatures, but it really did stimulate more conversation among the members in the (Republican) caucus about what could we do to make home and land ownership a heck of a lot easier for folks.
"The consistent message is, you know, it feels like we never own our property, we never own our home, that we're, you know, a couple of years away from no payment, of taxes for not having anything. So, I think Prop A was designed to, you know, kind of cap the growth and limit what was going on back in the day, but we've seen such tremendous growth in values that when homes are sold, and those property taxes come uncapped, there's tremendous growth in taxes. And that's led to a couple problems. No 1: people paying a lot higher taxes than they anticipated. And no. 2, it's contributed to this housing shortage, in that the natural evolution of a family was you start off with a starter house, you started having kids, you got a forever house, allegedly, and then your kids all moved out, and you were living in a 3- or 4- or 5-bedroom home with no kids. It's like, we don't need this. Let's downsize. Well, now you downsize, and you're going to have to go purchase property that's uncapped as well. So, it just creates this whole vacuum of, I can't afford to keep my house (and) I can't afford to sell my house and buy a new house. So, I think it really helps contribute to the shortage of housing stock ...
"But from (the government side), how do we continue to fund government, especially at the local level, without creating harm? So, I don't think there's a specific plan that I've seen yet. Just a lot of chatter about uncapping and those kinds of things that we've already talked about. So, I think you'll see some kind of plan. ... Honestly, I would be shocked if it made it all the way through and is signed by the governor in this term, but it sets a pathway of which way we want to head as a caucus."
Frisbie also spoke on:
· Establishment of a Public Safety Trust Fund in 2025
· Positive impacts of specialty courts, such as the sobriety court in Calhoun County
· The need to "balance" funding between prosecutors and public defenders
See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606
Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org