24 MiMfg Magazine January / February 2022
MFG Voice
Mike
Johnston Caroline Liethen David Worthams Vice President of Director of Environmental Director of Human Government Mike Johnston Affairs & Regulatory Dave Greco Policy David Resource Worthams Policy
2021 Legislative Victories and Accomplishments
Tax Policy
New Economic Development Tool for Michigan to Win Jobs and Investment
Passed a $ 1 billion economic development tool that puts Michigan in the game for transformational investments as the auto industry quickly evolves from the internal combustion engine to electric and autonomous vehicles . ( Learn more on page 18 .)
PPT “ One and Done ” s Created a process that will allow manufacturers to file a single Personal Property Tax ( PPT ) exemption at the state level , preempting the onerous process of filing exemptions with each local municipality every year .
Claim Your PPT Savings Check out MMA ’ s PPT Savings Tool Kit for resources — including updates , forms and eligibility and more — at mimfg . org / pptsavings .
Simplified PPT Filings for Remote Personal Property
Extended the legislative solution advanced by MMA last year to avoid the administrative nightmare of tracking personal property such as laptops and monitors held by people working remotely .
Manufacturing Talent
Going PRO Talent Fund Achieved record funding for the Going PRO Talent Fund , a critical tool to address the manufacturing talent crisis . Forty million dollars is available to employers for the 2021-2022 application period .
Michigan Reconnect Fifty-five million dollars was dedicated to the Michigan Reconnect program , expanding this tuition-free program in which workers can earn a college degree or industry-recognized certificate to 40,000 more applicants .
PRIME ® Talent Program Six million dollars of the fiscal year 2021-2022 School Aid Budget will be dedicated to SME Education Foundation ’ s Partnership Response Initiative ( PRIME ®) program which will provide 16 Michigan high schools with opportunities to craft and run CTE programs for students providing an ongoing talent pipeline for local manufacturers .
MMA ’ s Mike Johnston and David Worthams and SME Foundation ’ s Rob Luce testified in support of PRIME ® last spring to the House Committee on Workforce , Trades and Talent .
Get More ! Join an MMA Policy Committee or subscribe to weekly MFG Voice e-newsletter for the latest updates . Learn more at mimfg . org .
Employer Issues
Reinstated Work Search Called for reinstatement of work search requirement as a condition of unemployment benefits after Governor Whitmer suspended in 2020 . Following the reinstatement of the requirement on 5 / 31 / 21 , nearly 300,000 claimants dropped off the unemployment rolls by 9 / 1 / 21 .
Required Work Registration and Fixed Temporary Waiver
MMA-supported law Public Act 66 of 2021 requires an individual to register for work with a Michigan Works ! agency after applying for unemployment benefits . The bill also retroactively protected workers on temporary layoff , when requirement was reinstituted on 5 / 31 / 21 , by allowing waiving the work search requirement , so manufacturers could avoid losing their workforce to the work search requirement .
Shored-up UITF Avoided borrowing from the federal government to keep unemployment benefits available following recordshattering unemployment claims and fraud . Secured a $ 150 million to shore up the employer-funded Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund ( UITF ).
Health Care Policy
Maintained Health Care Cost-Cutting Tool
Prevented a long-term carve-out for positron emission tomography ( PET ) scanner services from the state ’ s Certificate of Need ( CON ) process which controls costs in Michigan ’ s health care markets .