SB 929 (Michigan) – 2025-2026 Session
Proposed Repeal of Local Financial Stability and Choice Act (2012 PA 436)
Overview
- Purpose of bill: Repeal the Local Financial Stability and Choice Act, 2012 PA 436 (MCL 141.1541–141.1575). The bill would repeal the statutory framework established in 2012 intended to address local government financial distress.
Key provisions
- Enacting section repeal: The bill states that the local financial stability and choice act, enacted as 2012 PA 436 (MCL 141.1541 to 141.1575), is repealed. This is a straightforward repeal, removing the statutory regime created a decade earlier.
- Effective scope: The repeal applies to the entire act as codified in MCL 141.1541–141.1575, including any provisions related to local government oversight, financial monitoring, and potential intervention mechanisms embedded in the 2012 law.
Who is affected
- Local governments in Michigan that would have been subject to the 2012 act’s provisions in cases of financial distress or extraordinary financial need.
- State and local government offices and agencies involved in monitoring, enforcing, or responding to local government financial distress under the 2012 act.
- Stakeholders such as city, town, or village governments, of any size, that could have been subject to intervention or financial oversight under the act.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- Status: Introduced April 23, 2026; referred to the Committee on Local Government.
- Legislative process: As a repeal bill, it would be reviewed by the committee, with potential hearings, amendments, and votes in the Senate. If passed by the Senate, it would move to the House for consideration, and ultimately to the governor for signature or veto.
- Immediate effect upon enactment: If enacted and effective, the statutory framework created by 2012 PA 436 would be removed from the Michigan Compiled Laws, eliminating the specific set of procedures and triggers associated with local financial distress that previously existed under that act.
Rationale and context (implications)
- By repealing the act, Michigan would discontinue the predefined statewide mechanism for addressing local government financial instability that existed under 2012 PA 436.
- The repeal could shift approaches to municipal financial distress, potentially returning authority or discretion to existing general state fiscal oversight, local governance practices, or any new framework enacted separately.
- Stakeholders may weigh considerations such as alternate oversight options, funding mechanisms, fiscal recovery plans, and the impact on local autonomy versus state intervention.
Summary
SB 929 seeks to repeal the Local Financial Stability and Choice Act of 2012, removing the statutory framework for monitoring and intervening in local government finances. The bill would eliminate MCL 141.1541–141.1575, thereby ending the specific procedures and triggers that governed local financial distress under the act. The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government, with several co-sponsors. If enacted, the repeal would take effect through the usual legislative process and, upon final enactment, would restore or redirect the approach to local government financial management in Michigan without the 2012 act’s framework.
