State Rep. Diana Farrington, R-Utica, introduced House bill 5550 on Feb. 25 in an effort to prevent residents from paying for services they would not receive, and to lend counties a chance to opt out of proposed service areas, according to a news release.
“If the RTA has communities in two counties that are interested in funding a project for shared services, they should be allowed to,” Farrington said in a statement. “This plan will give the RTA the flexibility it needs to move forward, while also protecting the taxpayers in Macomb and Oakland counties who don’t want to pay new taxes for something that offers little benefit to them.
“It allows residents in certain areas to approve millages and make investments to enhance their transportation services, without forcing people in other communities to pay for services they don’t want and wouldn’t use."
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, worked with leaders to establish a common ground to amend a 2012 law that formed the Regional Transit Authority. Leaders from Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties haven’t fully agreed on plans for several years.
A $5.4-billion plan proposed in 2018 that would have added a plethora of bus and train routes across the four counties never made it to the ballot, and a similar 1.2-mill plan from 2016 was rejected by voters. Both plans called for a variety of services like express bus routes, traditional bus services and commuter rails.
“This solution largely reflects the feedback he and other representatives have received from residents in the area,” said Gideon D’Assandro, Chatfield’s communications director. “The biggest two were the ability to opt out and have their voice heard in the process and to cap the size of the millage.”
Chatfield said his top priority is to “restrict the RTA” to give taxpayers more control over future tax increases by providing the option to stay out of the system. The bill would allow county leaders to opt their county out of participating in a proposed regional transit plan, place a 3-mill cap on regional transit millages and ensure tax revenue generated by the RTA would not be captured by other local taxing authorities, according to a news release.
Additionally, RTA board members, who represent a county that chooses not to participate in the service area, would not be able to participate in the vote or creation of the service area.
“We worked hard over several months to find a plan that improved the flawed RTA status quo and strengthened the rights of local voters to choose their own best way forward,” Chatfield said in a statement. “We listened to a lot of meaningful feedback from concerned taxpayers, residents looking for new options, job creators worried about filling open positions, small government advocates, and local officials from all over the state on both sides of the issue."
A message seeking further comment was left with Farrington.
In November 2019, State Rep. Jason Sheppard, R-Temperance, alongside Wayne, Washtenaw and Oakland County leaders proposed a bill to amend the Municipal Partnership Act of 2011 to allow voters in the three counties to consider tax increases for mass public transit improvements. The announcement excluded Macomb County, whose leadership has opposed previous regional transit proposals. Farrington confirmed she would not have voted for Sheppard’s bill in a Tuesday press scrum.
Jason Morgan, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners chairman, said Farrington’s proposal addresses everyone’s concerns and allows leaders to move forward and provide greater flexibility as a region.
“While I believe amending the MPA would be great, this route through an amended RTA is a solid compromise that best addresses everyone’s concerns,” Morgan said. “Rep. Farrington’s bill is a great bill that will allow us to move forward with regional transit for Southeast Michigan. We are comfortable with the safeguards included in this bill and really apppreciate Speaker Chatfield, Rep. Sheppard and legislative leaders for working with us to move this forward.”
The bill was referred to the Committee on Government Operations for consideration.
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