Suspicion and the legislative honeymoon
Budget uncertainty hangs over a legislative transition

Everything related to politics came under fire this fall, as elections and taxes kept REALTORS® thinking about issues in their state Capitol. It’s been an interesting ride.

First, we have long been concerned about talk from the administration about a sales tax on services, particularly as state government must soon make some hard budget choices. As of this writing (the legislature still has two weeks of session left), we do not believe that such a tax could be passed, and it has not been scheduled. All of the leadership, from the governor on down, has said it won’t happen. Of course, there is still a lot of wariness out there. Some want to hear more about the sales tax on services fight, and some are already tired of hearing about it. Some of our own membership believes we haven’t been contentious enough with the governor’s office on this issue. Some of our membership wants to stop talking about an issue that hasn’t moved and would like the Public Policy Committee to focus on other things.

Well, rest assured we are appropriately focused on this issue, as well as other issues important to our membership. As the entire House of Representatives can attest, local associations all across this state made our position on taxation very clear before this last election, in which MAR-endorsed candidates won 89 percent of their elections. While this is a great sign, it is the first time, since I’ve been here, that our percentage of victory was worse than in August’s primary elections. Why? Two reasons: term limits, and an issue this association has never felt more strongly about. In this atmosphere, and for the first time since the early 1990s, incumbent state legislators lost their seats in the general election. Additionally, local associations, and RPAC trustees, backed underdog candidates who shared a similar philosophy, a hard line on any further tax increases in state government. Sometimes when you take a stand, you can get knocked down. It was certainly worthwhile to make our point.

Interestingly, the issue took on a life of its own when some of the more contested campaigns brought the issue up in the repetitive and ubiquitous election-year advertising That might help explain some of our own “enough already” voices heard around the home fires. We can’t help it if our message becomes memorable outside of this association, but there’s no reason to regret it.

In any case, the House of Representatives now switches from a 63-46 Republican majority (there was a vacated seat) to a 58-52 Republican majority. So, it’s a different dynamic than one sees unfolding in Washington, D.C. Our new Speaker of the House is the politically savvy Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) who takes over for the term-limited Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy) in that all-important post. Policy ace Chris Ward (R-Brighton) replaces term-limited Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) in the floor leadership position. That is the office that officially schedules what bills will be considered, to which committees they are referred, and when. This combination makes this a key post for anyone interested in the passage of legislation.

Anytime new leadership enters the political arena, all eyes soon focus on the developing working relationship between the governor and the legislature. Speaker-Elect DeRoche is no different, and offered an olive branch of sorts to the governor. “We’re not seeking to take her on,” he said. A bipartisan tone developed in order to calm any post-election battles, but DeRoche referenced the visible partisan divide by adding “We are two different parties for a reason.”

As for the House minority, Rep. Dianne Byrum (D-Onondaga) retains her top spot with a better-than-expected pickup of five seats for her caucus. Although occasionally fractious, the caucus may be expected to be following her with less friction in this term due to her leadership role in that numerical expansion. Byrum commented on a strengthened Democratic caucus by stating “Next year, I think we’ll be able to be much more successful in trying to bring some moderation to what goes out of the House.” In keeping with the bipartisan tone that evolved after an intense election, Byrum says, “I believe we get the best product when you build consensus in the middle.” Overall, REALTORS® have every reason to be pleased with the experienced and philosophically stable leadership that has resulted from these elections.

Interestingly, we believe two major land use initiatives are lined up for “lame duck,” and we hope to see action on them by the time you read this publication.

The first, streamlined platting, is the result of years of work put forth by the MAR’s Land Use Task Force and our Public Policy Committee. Essentially, it cuts the approval timeline by over a year by frontloading the approval process. Moreover, it does so by gaining concurrent approval, rather than the sequential process so famous for delaying development decisions. Over the years, that process has resulted in start after restart, since each change at every step requires beginning the sequences all over again. SB 1416, sponsored by Senator Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck), successfully passed out of the House Land Use and Environment Committee, and we are working for it to gain approval on the House floor before the end of this legislative session.

The second, contract zoning, is a three bill package (HB 6164, 6166, 6206) introduced by Representative Chris Ward (R-Brighton), Representative Ruth Johnson (R-Holly), and Representative Philip LaJoy (R-Canton), respectively. This legislation would offer property owners the opportunity to enter into rezoning contracts with local governments allowing for new designs, mixed use and high density development. The legislation provides for local governments and developers to have an equal footing in the bargaining process, which ultimately creates better redevelopments and smarter land use. Favorable action is expected in the Senate Local, Urban, and State Affairs Committee and on the Senate floor, by the time you have finished this article. For more information on this or our taxation issue, please see our website at
www.mirealtors.com.