Don't want transit? House bill would allow communities to opt out

LANSING — A proposal to impose a 1.5-mill tax to fund a regional transit plan in southeast Michigan is only on the drawing board and hasn’t been approved for the ballot yet, but state legislators are already trying to limit the millage’s reach.

State Rep. Jeff Yaroch, R-Richmond, introduced a bill last week that would allow cities, villages and townships to opt out of the millage.

“Many in my district have communicated to me that they’re feeling that the plans aren’t beneficial to northern Macomb County,” he said. “This doesn’t stand in the way of the RTA (Regional Transit Authority) from putting it on the ballot, but an individual community should be able to opt out.”

An RTA millage request narrowly failed in Macomb and Oakland counties in 2016, hampering the authority’s ability to make meaningful change. County executives Mark Hackel and L. Brooks Patterson have said they’re not on board with the most recent RTA proposal, put forth by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.

Yaroch said his bill will force the RTA to prove that its proposal has merit for the outer reaches of Oakland and Macomb.

More: RTA seeking public comment on transit plan for southeast Michigan

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“I’ve gone to the RTA board and stressed the importance of communicating with communities and sell their plan,” he said. “That way, local communities will have a seat at the table.”

And while he has no problem with the millage proposal being on the ballot, Yaroch said he thinks there’s a more pressing problem in the region.

“I believe in regional cooperation, but the one thing we don’t seem to be talking about and should be a first priority is roads,” he said. “I would like to see the four leaders of the region working with Lansing on what we can do on roads.”

The bill has been referred to the House Tax Policy committee, where Rep. Jim Tedder, R-Clarkston, is chairman and a co-sponsor of the opt-out legislation.

Other bills introduced last week:

HB 5853: Designate the Karner blue butterfly as the official state butterfly. Sponsor: Rep. Terry Sabo, D-Muskegon.

HB 5854-5855: Create a permit program for voluntary wetland restoration. Sponsors: Reps. Gary Howell, R-North Branch, Joe Bellino, R-Monroe.

HB 5856: Designate a portion of US-127 as the Trooper Craig A. Scott Memorial Highway. Scott was shot and killed during a traffic stop in 1982. Sponsor: Rep. Tom Cochran, D-Mason.

HB 5857: Require pharmacists to dispense schedule 2 controlled substances in lockable vials. Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe.

HB 5858: Require insurance companies to allow pharmacies to disclose drug prices to consumers. Sponsor: Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Township.

HB 5859: Require no-fault insurance policy renewal notices to be delivered at least 30 days before the policy expires and include rate revisions. Sponsor: Rep. Mike McCready, R-Birmingham.

HB 5860 and SB 963: Designate a portion of M-13 in Bay County as PFC Alan R. Blohm Memorial Highway. Blohm died in 2006 from injuries sustained while serving in Iraq. Sponsors: Rep. Brian Elder, D-Bay City and Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville.

HB 5861-5865: Provide for community renewable energy generation facilities; net metering programs for large generators of alternative sources of energy and alternative rates for small generators. Sponsors: Reps. Gary Glenn, R-Williams Township, Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, Steven Hohnson, R-Wayland Township.

HB 5866: Provide for general amendments for fishing regulations. Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe.

HB 5867-5869 and 5872: Authorize and establish the duties for officers and directors of benefit corporations and establish annual report filing requirements. Sponsors: Reps. Christine Greig, D-Farmington Hills, Jason Sheppard, R-Lambertville, Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, Hank Vaupel, R-Fowlerville.



HB 5870: Provide opt-out provisions for cities, villages and township for regional transit millages. Sponsor: Rep. Jeff Yaroch, R-Richmond.

HB 5871: Repeal a law that prohibits communities from regulating plastic bags. Sponsor: Rep. Robert Wittenberg, D-Oak Park.

HB 5873-5874: Require schools to develop comprehensive school security plans and establish a minimum number of school counselors employed by a school district. Sponsor: Rep. Robert Kosowski, D-Westland.

HB 5875: Require the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to provide written materials and training on apprenticeship opportunities to veteran organizations. Sponsor: Rep. Robert Kosowski, D-Westland.

HB 5876-5877: Modify the symbol of accessibility and handicapped parking signage for people with disabilities. Sponsor: Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain.

HB 5878: Require the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to disclose how they come up with the annual fees for no-fault insurance customers. Sponsor: Rep. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township.

HB 5879-5880: Provide for a boater’s safety certification designation on driver’s licenses and state identification cards. Sponsors: Reps. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe.

HB 5881-5882: Provide for general amendments to Michigan’s law that governs casinos, allowing people who have felony convictions that are at least 10 years old or misdemeanors that are at least five years old to get supplier licenses for a casino. Sponsor: Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Kalamazoo.

HB 5883: Provide for an excise tax on bicycles, mopeds and electric bicycles. Sponsor: Rep. Leslie Love, D-Detroit.

HB 5884-5888: Repeal an antiquated state law that established tuberculosis and hospital sanitoriums. Sponsors: Reps. Jeffrey Noble, R-Plymouth, Robert Kosowski, D-Westland, Steven Johnson, R-Wayland Township, Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe, Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn.

HB 5889: Provide for lake-level assessment fee reimbursement for inland lakes. Sponsor: Rep. Scott VanSingel, R-Grant.

HB 5890: Modify the air pollution location notification requirement. Sponsor: Rep. Dave Pagel, R-Berrien Springs.

HB 5891: Modify the restrictions on use of land that was conveyed by the state to city of Lansing. Sponsor: Rep. Tom Cochran, D-Mason.

HB 5892-5895: Repeal the state law that created probation recovery camps and conservational rehabilitation camps for male delinquent youth, Sponsors: Reps. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, Daire Rendon, R-Lake City, Roger Hauck, R-Mt. Pleasant, Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain.

HB 5896: Provide for limits on economic development incentives from the state if the business’ compensation for executives exceeds a certain threshold. Sponsor: Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn.

HB 5897: Modify the recommendations on autonomous vehicle technology made by the Michigan Council on Future Mobility to the governor, Legislature and several state departments. Sponsor: Rep. Patrick Green, D-Warren.

HB 5898: Establish annual fee schedules for community water suppliers. Sponsor: Rep. Larry Inman, R-Williamsburg.

HB 5899: Require that unexpended balances in the state’s transportation funds be appropriated no later than three months after the close of the fiscal year. Sponsor: Rep. Jim Lilly, R-Macatawa.

Senate bills

SB 960: Designate a portion of M-44 as the Michigan State Trooper Timothy O’Neill Memorial Highway. O’Neill died in 2017 in a traffic crash while he was on duty in west Michigan.

SB 961: Create a task force to facilitate a waiver that has to be submitted to the federal government for changes the Senate is making to Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act. Sponsor: Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

SB 962: Provide for dual licenses for adult foster care facilities to offer both mental health and substance abuse disorder programs. Sponsor: Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City.

SB 964: Provide for revisions to highway advertising act that governs billboards. Sponsor: Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba.

SB 965: Allow municipalities to act jointly to administer and enforce standards for soil and erosion. Sponsor: Sen. Joe Hune, R-Gregory.

For more information or to track the progress of bills, go to www.legislature.mi.gov

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal