Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill Tuesday to extend a moratorium on water shutdowns through March 31, extend the duration of the poverty tax exemption and change the way communities deal with profits from foreclosure sales.
The water shutdown bill ensures that no public water sources can cease service for residents due to non-payment by March 31st. The law, sparked in part by pandemic troubles, also requires that every effort be made to restore water to customers who were previously cut off for non-payment.
The bill does not cancel a resident’s obligation to pay for water or reduce the amount of money a resident owes for water.
“This legislation, led by Senator Stephanie Chang, will help everyone in Michigan wash their hands and give their child a glass of water at the dinner table,” Whitmer said in a statement Tuesday. “My administration will continue to work to provide clean water to all Michigan residents, and I look forward to working with everyone who wants to achieve this.”
Whitmer also signed laws that would allow communities to extend poverty tax exemptions so that an annual extension is not required.
The legislation, sparked in part by long lines at Detroit City Hall during a pandemic, would apply to those who received an exemption in 2019 or 2020 and extend it through 2021. The bill would also extend the exemption for senior citizens to three years of fixed income securities that receive one between 2021 and 2023.
If the law determines that a person is later not eligible for an exemption, the person must repay the tax with interest.
Two other bills signed by Whitmer would amend the law to provide a mechanism for recruiting excess proceeds from tax auction sales.
The bills bring state practice in line with a historic July Supreme Court ruling in Michigan in which justices unanimously ruled that counties cannot sell foreclosed homes for profit without compensating the person who took the property has been.
The Michigan Supreme Court case dates back to 2011 when Uri Rafaeli owed $ 8.41 in delinquent taxes on a rental property. The amount owed had risen to $ 285 due to penalties and interest in 2014 when Oakland County sealed off Rafaeli’s home in Southfield. The county sold the home for $ 24,500 and kept the excess proceeds.
The county has also sealed off Andre Ohanessian’s home, on which he owed overdue taxes of $ 6,000. His home sold for $ 82,000 after tax foreclosure.
Whitmer also signed a bill on Tuesday to extend the ability for public entities to meet electronically while ensuring compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com