The Senate agreed to the title of the bill.
Senator Singh asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Singh’s statement is as follows:
Affordable housing is a major concern in every Senator’s district throughout our state, and this legislation will provide a tool and a first step to address that issue head-on. Partnering with the leadership at MSHDA, these bills will create the second residential tax increment financing program in the entire country and the first to allow for large development projects in our communities. This legislation is an opt-in for local governments; it provides flexible options to partner with builders, owners, and other housing providers to address the housing crisis with a solution that will work to rehabilitate blighted property in any community.
Senate Bill No. 129 amends the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act that we have all come to work with for many years throughout our state, especially those who are doing economic development. It adds eligible activities to include housing assistance and housing development. In the end, to speak towards the previous speaker’s concerns, all of these happen at the local level. Your local community has to develop a plan. They also have to ask, How is this going to impact affordable housing? So every year that that TIF is in place, the local government has to actually respond and share information with MSHDA and others to say that the affordable housing is continuing. In the end, the final decision once the local government has said this is something we want to do with our tax increment financing system, then it has to come to MSHDA. And MSHDA, again, has obviously been working for years to focus on making sure that housing is affordable and they will never support a project that doesn’t move—that takes advantage of renters and other people of low-income means.
I am excited about this package because of its unique nature. I think every local government I’ve had the opportunity to work with in my previous four years has told me that affordable housing is a major concern in every community. In the end, I’d like to thank my colleagues that have been part of this package—the Senators from Districts 6, 14, and 35. I want to thank the chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee for his leadership and partnership through the process of making these bills even better throughout the process. And thanks to our friends and colleagues over at MSHDA and Treasury and other places that helped make this legislation possible. What this is going to provide for us is one of the first in the country—technically, second in the country—opportunities for us to allow local governments, your local communities, an opportunity to do affordable housing. I thank you very much for the time and I urge a “yes” vote.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 130, entitled
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled “The general property tax act,” by amending section 7gg (MCL 211.7gg), as added by 2003 PA 261.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: