Posted by: jgomori Posted date: December 17, 2021

Lawmakers completed passage of a $1.484 billion supplemental appropriations bill containing $1 billion General Fund for the state to use to incentivize companies to choose Michigan for locating large economic development projects. It was a dramatic conclusion to the Legislature’s voting sessions for 2021. Aside from non-voting sessions, the Legislature has concluded all business until it reconvenes Jan. 12, 2022. Passing both chambers was SB 85, which also contains an additional $484 million gross ($75 million General Fund). This would provide $409 million federal funding in aid for businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and $75 million General Fund to fund raising the floor on the personal property tax exemption; An $842.6M supplemental appropriations bill was heading to the Governor’s desk after a 12-hour day in the House and Senate on Tuesday. That bill would fund COVID-19 testing, mental health services and much more; HB 4398, which was adopted earlier that morning by a conference committee, passed the House 94-9 and the Senate 35-1; A COVID supplemental also passed the House. HB 5523, sponsored by Rep. Julie Calley (R-Portland), passed by a 98-4 vote. Solely Republicans voted against the bill: Steve Johnson of Wayland, Steve Carra of Three Rivers, John Reilly of Oakland Township and Matt Maddock of Milford. The appropriations bill was sheared down some from its initial $1.2 billion amount due to funding dedicated to epidemiology and lab capacity school safety being halved from $300 million to $150 million. That remaining money, the other $150 million, was added into the yearend supplemental to expedite getting funds out the door; The Department of Insurance and Financial Services expects the $400 auto insurance refunds slated to go out to drivers in the state to be issued by May 9, 2022.  The DIFS bulletin and website lay out the timeline and requirements for insurers as well as inform drivers to when and how they will get the refunds. The Governor and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association recently announced the refunds would be $400 per vehicle; The state’s minimum wage rate will increase from $9.65 to $9.87 on Jan. 1, 2022; A bill to lower personal and corporate income tax rates was introduced by Sen. Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton). Citing the coronavirus pandemic and the rise in inflation as a result of the federal response to the pandemic’s economic fallout, SB 768 would lower the personal and corporate income tax rates to 3.9 percent, effective tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The current state personal income tax rate is 4.25 percent and for the state corporate income tax rate it is 6 percent.

For more details on these legislative updates, please click on the December 2021 Karoub Report below.

 December 2021 Karoub Report