Michigan Association of Police

Public Acts 63 and 152 Appropriations Bill Update

The Michigan Legislature has an annual Appropriations Bill that is necessary on an annual basis to run the government. In 2011 the Appropriations Bill was called Public Act 63, which is actually a series of appropriations bills, and it affects every branch of government because all expenses are budgeted within this Act.

The revenue sharing portion of the Bill sets the guidelines for the Economic Vitality Improvement Program (EVIP) and contains three categories important to all public employees:
Category 1 - requires transparency in local govermnent. Examples of compliance includes public viewing of Collective Bargaining Agreements, Notice of Public Meetings, How to contact public officials, etc.;
Category 2 - requires plans for the, sharing of services, Cooperation with other governmental entities, etc.;
Category 3 - which required a sunset provision for pension and health care, is renewed annually for each fiscal year. The good news for public employees is that the language offensive to public employees in Category 3 has been eliminated from the latest appropriations law, Public Act 107 for the current state fiscal year 2012. PA 152 only applies to active employees, but employers are attempting to change it to make it applicable to retirees also. This includes premium sharing for health care.

MAP is constantly on the alert to keep up with the efforts of legislators in Lansing to reduce employees and retirees benefits and we are doing our best to protect the rights of public employees in Michigan.