The 2023/2024 legislative session has officially concluded, marking the end of another impactful year for our association. By the time you read this, your government relations team will have already begun building relationships with incoming legislators. As we welcome the New Year and the start of the 2025/2026 legislative session, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the challenges, victories and progress of the past year.

The 2023/2024 legislative session was the first time in decades the Democrats controlled the State House, the State Senate and the governor’s office – which has been referred to as the Democrat trifecta. While the Democrats held the majority in both chambers, it was by a slim majority requiring them to have all their members present to pass their legislative agenda.

While we don’t know how the dust will fully settle on issues that impact the housing industry at the time of this writing, let me do a quick breakdown of our known successes to date.

Skilled to Build Michigan Foundation, the non-profit arm of the HBA of Michigan, was fortunate to receive a $400,000.00 grant in the FY25 budget to print and distribute “Trades Today – Career Opportunities in Skilled Trades” to every 8^th grader in the state of Michigan. You may recall we received a $2 million appropriation from the state of Michigan in their FY23 budget to distribute a similar book to every student in grades 8-12 in the state.

Legislatively, we saw victories. Here is a breakdown of the issues that we supported and were signed into law.

2023/2024 HBAM Supported Public Act Summaries

Public Act No. 20/House Bill 4039 “amend(s) the General Sales Tax Act and the Use Tax, respectively, to modify the definition of ‘sales price’ and ‘purchase price’, as applicable, to eliminate delivery and installation charges from those definitions”. (2023)

Public Act No. 21/House Bill 4253 “amend(s) the General Sales Tax Act and the Use Tax, respectively, to modify the definition of ‘sales price’ and ‘purchase price’, as applicable, to eliminate delivery and installation charges from those definitions”. (2023)

Public Act No. 52/House Bill 4375 “amend(s) the Land Bank Fast Track Act to expand the definition of ‘qualified city’ to include cities with a population of 50,000 or more, if that city were not located in a county that already had a county authority. It would also modify the definition of ‘local authority’.” (2023)

Public Act No. 89/Senate Bill 289 “amend(s) the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act to allow a local brownfield redevelopment authority (BRA) to capture revenue from sales and use taxes to pay for eligible activities through the state’s transformational brownfield program. The bill would also increase the caps on annual and total allowable reimbursements and amend the population targets under the program”. (2023) 

Public Act No. 90/Senate Bill 129 “amend(s) the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act to allow tax revenues captured from a brownfield property to be used for certain housing activities with the approval of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA)”. (2023)

Public Act No. 91/Senate Bill 130 “amend(s) the General Property Tax Act to update a reference to sections of the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act to reflect changes that would be made by Senate Bill 129”. (2023)

Public Act No. 92/Senate Bill 131 “amend(s) the Use Tax Act to update a reference to a section of the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act to reflect changes that would be made by Senate Bill 129”. (2023)

Public Act No. 93/Senate Bill 132 “amend(s) the General Sales Tax Act to update a reference to a section of the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act to reflect changes that would be made by Senate Bill 129”. (2023) 

Public Act No. 169/Senate Bill 397 “amend(s) the State Housing Development Authority Act to increase, from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, the limit on all outstanding bonds and notes that the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) may have”. (2023)

Public Act No. 238/Senate Bill 337 “amend(s) 1970 PA 132, an act that provides for land surveys to be filed with a county register of deeds and requires those surveys to meet certain requirements. The bill would modernize several provisions and provide for an alternative monumentation process in cases of an obstruction, among other changes”. (2023)

Public Act No. 153/House Bill 5557 “amend(s) the Michigan Planning Enabling Act to require a local government's master plan to promote a range of housing types and include an assessment of the community’s housing demand with strategies and policies for addressing those demands. It also would add housing to the list of major interests that the membership of a local government's planning commission must represent”. (2024)

There of course were issues we opposed that were also signed into law. In the interest of looking positively into the new year, I didn’t include those in this article. The HBA of Michigan Legislative Committee is developing our policy agenda for the 2025/2026 legislative session. You will receive it either via email or mail, as we further develop our communication strategy.

The legislative dynamic will look different this year with the Republicans controlling the House, albeit with a small advantage, and the Senate being controlled by the Democrats. The interesting dynamic in the Senate is the Democrats go from having 20 seats to having 19. The Republicans still hold 18 seats and there will be one open seat which is currently held by a Democrat.

With an open seat, the Governor will most likely call a special election. 

Look for an invite to attend our upcoming Leaders of the Legislature 2025 Series that will take place on Zoom.