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HB 5945

Transportation: funds; local agency infrastructure disaster relief fund and board; create. Amends secs. 10 & 11 of 1951 PA 51 (MCL 247.660 & 247.661) & adds sec. 11k.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Jennifer Conlin and 1 co-sponsor

Creates a dedicated state fund and board to finance repair/rebuild of local roads and bridges after declared disasters, using $5 million annually from existing local road funds.

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
#counties:boardsandcommissions #stateagencies(existing):transportation #transportation:funds
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Bill Summary · HB 5945

Summary — HB 5945 (Local Agency Disaster Relief Program)

Status: Introduced Sept. 24, 2024; passed the Michigan House (Dec. 11, 2024, Roll Call #417 — Yeas 56 / Nays 53); referred to Committee on Government Operations (Dec. 18, 2024). First board appointments required by Oct. 1, 2025. Note: HB 5944 is a companion technical bill; neither bill takes effect unless both are enacted.

Purpose

Creates a dedicated program, board, and fund to provide financial assistance to Michigan local road agencies for repairing or replacing local transportation infrastructure damaged by declared emergencies (local or state level).

Key provisions

  • Establishes the Local Agency Disaster Relief Program within MDOT to finance:

    • Restoration or replacement of public local roads, bridges, or other physical transportation infrastructure to pre‑event condition or current state/federal standards (only after exhaustion of other federal and state funding sources).
    • Engineering and design work to meet current standards.
    • Purchase of land or easements needed for reconstruction.
    • Inspection/oversight to ensure performance standards.
    • Project administration to meet financial accountability.

  • Creates the Local Agency Disaster Relief Board (in MDOT) to administer the program, set policies, criteria, timelines, and application/review procedures. Boards must notify applicants within 180 days whether an application is approved (in part or full), rejected, or pending.

  • Creates the Local Agency Disaster Relief Board Fund in the state treasury:

    • Up to $5.0 million may be deposited annually.
    • Fund balance may not exceed $50.0 million at the beginning of a fiscal year (excluding amounts already obligated).
    • State treasurer handles deposits and investments; MDOT is the fund administrator for audit purposes.

  • Funding source: Redirects a total of $5.0 million annually from existing Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) distributions to local road agencies — specifically $3.0 million from the county road commission share and $2.0 million from the city/village share (derived from a 3¢ portion of motor fuel tax revenue). The bill amends Act 51 fund allocation language to create this new earmark.

Board composition & governance

  • Voting members: 3 appointed by the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM); 2 by the Michigan Municipal League (MML); 1 voting engineer appointed jointly by CRAM and MML.
  • Nonvoting members: 1 each appointed by MDOT, EGLE, and the Department of State Police.
  • Terms: Generally two years (initial staggered terms); board meets at least quarterly; subject to Open Meetings Act and FOIA.
  • Board members serve without compensation (may be reimbursed for travel/expenses as available). Governor may remove members for cause. Board may hire or contract for staff and technical expertise.

Who is affected

  • Primary recipients: Local road agencies as defined in Act 51 — 83 county road agencies and ~531 city/village road agencies in Michigan.
  • Indirectly affected: Existing routine MTF distributions to county road commissions and cities/villages will be reduced by $5.0 million annually to seed the new fund.
  • Appointing organizations: CRAM and MML gain appointment authority on board membership.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • First board appointments due by Oct. 1, 2025.
  • Applicants may file at times determined by the board; the board must enter into an agreement with recipients before releasing funds.
  • HB 5944 (technical income tax citation update) must also be enacted for HB 5945 to take effect.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Provides a standing state mechanism and dedicated funding stream to accelerate local disaster recovery for roads/bridges when federal/state funding is exhausted.
  • Shifts $5.0 million/year from general local MTF distributions to a targeted disaster relief fund, which may reduce routine local road funding capacity by that amount.
  • Establishes an industry‑led board structure (CRAM/MML appointments) with MDOT oversight and statutory transparency requirements.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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