Samantha Harkins, Legislative Associate for the Michigan Municipal League, has been appointed to the Liquor Advisory Rules Committee.  This committee will assist the Office of Regulatory Reinvention in reviewing the state’s liquor control system to ensure that regulations are simple, transparent, fair and efficient and conducive to business growth and job creation. 

Harkins was one of twenty-one people chosen from among 70 applicants to serve on this committee.

The deadline is July 29, 2011 for Advocate of the Year nominations.  This award recognizes outstanding advocacy work during the past 12 months on behalf of cities and villages at either the state or local level by a mayor or village president who is a MAM member. The MAM Board of Directors will review nominations and select the recipient.  See the nominating form for additional criteria. Click here to download a PDF of the form.

Michigan Municipal League staff and local officials were among those present in Lansing today as Governor Rick Snyder signed into law the Public Act 312 reforms that will help local governments maximize public safety resources without jeopardizing collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters. This landmark legislation is a long-awaited victory for the League, which has been fighting for PA 312 reforms for years.

These critical reforms preserve collective bargaining rights for public safety workers and give local governments the authority to negotiate labor agreements based on ability to pay. It’s a common sense reform that will keep more police officers and firefighters on the job at a time when Lansing continues to reduce revenue sharing and other funding for essential local services. Click here to read the League press release issued on June 30 when the House and Senate gave final approval to the reforms.

More than 140 elected and appointed local government officials, law enforcement personnel and others gathered in Ypsilanti this week for a symposium on Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act, hosted by the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Association of Counties.

The three-hour dialogue covered a myriad of issues affecting communities across the state, as each struggles to understand the new law and its proper application. The first session featured Melanie Brim, Director, Bureau of Health Professions, Michigan Department of Community Health. Brim discussed the challenges faced by the MDCH in processing new applications at the rate of 300-400 per day, from dealing with nebulous diagnoses to the law enforcement difficulties caused by the unavoidable gap between a prospective patient's application and card issuance. Brim will also be a featured speaker at a pre-convention session on medical marihuana at the League's 112th Annual Convention, Sept. 21-24 in Dearborn.

Other speakers included Dennis Schornack of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Horticultural Institute, which seeks to professionalize medical marihuana cultivation as a tightly regulated industry with potential for economic development; and Hubbard Law attorney Michael G. Woodworth, who joined a panel discussion on law enforcement issues such as probable cause, federal law vs. state law, and dispensaries.

Grand Rapids attorney Catherine Mish addressed some of the key issues facing local government officials, in how far communities can go to regulate private and commercial uses involving medical marihuana. Mish will also be a featured speaker at the League's pre-convention session on medical marihuana on Sept. 21. Register now for this and other pre-convention sessions.

Elizabeth Shaw is Communications Coordinator at the Michigan Municipal League. She can be reached at (734) 669-6318 or e-mail her at eshaw@mml.org.