The Governor has been busy this week signing into law several bills that were sent to him as the legislature wrapped-up session for the year. Governor Snyder signed legislation allowing taxpayers who enter into disputes with the Department of Treasury to have the option to use the process of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) prior to entering the litigation process.

Additionally, Governor Snyder signed into law the Protecting Local Government Retirement Benefits Act. The new law makes several reforms to local retiree benefits. The finished legislative product that was sent to the Governor included the reforms that were recommended by Governor Snyder’s Responsible Retirement Reform for Local Government Task Force. The laws create several changes within the current system; including reporting requirements, a system to identify potential problems, a review process for local governments in fiscal distress, and a process for developing a corrective action plan. For further details, please click here to read our previous blog posts on the reform package.

The Governor also signed into law several additional bills, including:

• Clarification that self-insured workers’ compensation groups are exempt from the Corporate Income Tax.
• Allowing a development project timeline to be extended, while remaining eligible for a pre-approved Brownfield tax credit.
• Exemption for the sale of dental prosthetics from the Sales and Use Tax Act.
• Implementing up to three pilot programs to test the integration of physical health and behavioral health services by the Department of Health and Human Services.
• $23.2 million supplemental appropriation to be used to respond to the emerging public health issues of PFAS.

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