Michigan policymakers and advocates discussed ways to make housing less expensive at a roundtable conversation Monday in Grand Rapids.
The discussion included potential action at the state and federal levels.
At the state level, some of those policies included bipartisan zoning bills in the Michigan House of Representatives. The package would set more uniform statewide zoning policies, like minimum home and property lot sizes. They're meant to promote the building of affordable housing.
Local governments say the bills could limit local control.
But package sponsor Representative Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) said local governments would still have input.
“What it does is just say that there cannot be complete bans on duplexes or that parking cannot absolutely deny a housing project before it even begins,” Grant told reporters. “We need to start having the conversation and removing some of the largest barriers to housing.”
The legislation has the support of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who called for some of those policies during her State of the State address this year.
Aside from zoning reform, state lawmakers are looking to lower property taxes as a way of addressing housing costs, although there's no consensus on how to do that, and plans seem to be competing with one another at times.
Michigan’s Republican House speaker is proposing rolling back property taxes in favor of raising taxes on some services. Despite discussing it in press conferences, he hasn’t yet released specifics about how the plan would work.
Meanwhile, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is proposing a property tax cut for older adults. On Monday, Whitmer said she hadn’t seen enough details about the speaker’s plan to buy into it.
“We know that there will be conversations going on but I put a plan on the table that actually gives seniors real property tax relief and confers additional tax benefits to people that are trying to get into the housing market,” Whitmer said.
When asked if she would consider a broader property tax cut in general, Whitmer said she hadn’t seen enough to make a call one way or another.
“It sounds like ‘Oh, how can you be closed to something that has no beef to it?’ So, it’s a hard thing to answer,” Whitmer said.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is also looking at lowering property taxes through bills to expand access to the homestead property tax credit, which helps cover the cost of property taxes for people who qualify. Speaking to reporters, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said what ends up happening with the proposals could depend on what money is available.
“We do have these other tools available to us, we could tweak, we could change, we could negotiate around those bill packages if we want to provide tax relief. But really that’s a bigger question, it’s not just about housing, it’s also about the state budget,” Brinks said.
She also mentioned yet-to-be-introduced bills aimed at taking advantage of some federal tax resources to encourage more development.
On the federal level, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D, MI-3) called for policies to make it easier to build in rural areas and build out water and transportation infrastructure.
Scholten highlighted the 21st Century Road to Housing Act as an example of what’s possible when all sides work together. The bill is close to passing Congress, but she lamented it might run into trouble at the White House.
President Donald Trump has threatened to block all bills until congress passes the SAVE Act, to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote. It’s something that voting rights advocates worry could make it harder for some people to vote since not everyone has access to documents that prove their citizenship.
Regarding policies to address the infrastructure concerns, Scholten said addressing housing needs could require more money, which lawmakers might be reluctant to spend -- but she argued there is plenty of money available if it's directed toward different priorities.
“As soon as we start to hear Congress balk at a price tag, we need to think about the fact that the president is asking for $200 billion for a war that nobody wants and refusing to give us the resources that we need to build necessary housing right here in West Michigan,” Scholten said, referencing the war Trump started with Iran last month.
