Gaylord/Otsego County Chamber of Commerce

Government Relations Update from Jamie Callahan

April 21, 2008

‘Your MBT Experience’ Member Survey Continues

The latest initiative by the Chamber and the Northwest Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance continues to receive steady response.The Chamber and the Alliance launched the ‘Your MBT Experience’ information drive to see how the new tax is impacting northwest Michigan businesses.

We want to hear about the experience your firm or your accountant has encountered in preparation for this first MBT payment and how the changes in your tax liability will influence your business operations.Reports are coming in from across the state that some businesses are seeing increases in their MBT liability as high as 500% over last year.

The survey is short and only takes a moment to fill out.Alliance chambers have made the survey available in different ways, from online surveys and inclusion in weekly updates, to direct email solicitation.

Please take a moment to fill out this important member survey.Your input along with fellow chamber members will be used to showcase how this tax and surcharge are impacting the region’s job providers and reinforce the need for possible changes.Contact your chamber or Jamie Callahan at Jamie@tcchamber.org if you need a copy of the survey. Any information disclosed as proprietary or confidential will be kept confidential.

Tourism Promotion Bills Signed by Gov

One of the top initiatives of the Chamber and the Northwest Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance is the creation of consistent funding to promote Michigan as a tourism destination.This initiative has proven successful with the enactment of the recent tourism promotion package, Senate Bills 1223-1224, and House Bill 5865, now known as Public Acts 98-100.The enacted versions of the bills and their analysis can be viewed at www.mileg.org.

The bills are aimed at creating a steady funding stream to promote Michigan in major metropolitan markets across the country. The bills call for the creation of a Michigan Promotion Program by the Michigan Strategic Fund board to promote tourism funding, allocate funds for tourism promotion activities from the 21^st Century Jobs Trust Fund and recommend a dedicated funding proposal for tourism by the end of 2009.Tourism promotion would include "cultural, vacation, recreational, leisure, hunting-related, and agriculture-related travel across the state that include activities that promote tourism in all four seasons."

Though the bills only create funding for two years, the funding levels specifically designated towards tourism promotion are a significant step forward.The Chamber and the Northwest Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance will continue to work towards long term solutions to promote tourism in the region.

House Energy package moves to Senate

The long debated package of bills which would change the electric choice law in Michigan, PA 141, was passed by the House after a great deal of negotiations.

Highlights of the recent changes include:energy choice customers wouldn't have to pay any surcharge the major utilities impose for new power plant construction after they were to switch to a alternative electric provider; it grandfathers in any current choice customer so not to be included in a new ten percent cap on market competition the bill places on the industry; and caps customer liability for cost overruns of new power plant construction.Also of note in the legislation is the deskewing of utility rates for businesses.This deskewing would eliminate the higher rate businesses have been paying to subsidize residential electric rates.

Bills creating Renewable Portfolio Standards for alternative energy consumption, HB 5548 and 5549, were also passed by the House.Other bills passed as part of the package were

HB 5525, a bill promoting energy efficiency, and HB 5972-5977, which give MBT credits to Hemlock Semiconductor and other producers of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells and semiconductor chips.

The legislation is now off to the Senate where it is likely to receive considerable deliberation.Action on the legislation will likely not occur until June.All of the bills and analysis can be viewed at www.mileg.org.The Chamber and the Northwest Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance have not taken a position on the legislation.