Gov.

Rick Snyder signs bill authorizing creation of regional airport authority in

Kent County
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
LANSING, Mich. After several years of consideration and planning, Kent County will be permitted
to move forward on creating a regional airport authority, under legislation signed today by Gov. Rick
Snyder.
Grand Rapids continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and is quickly becoming a
business powerhouse of the Midwest, Snyder said. Formation of this regional airport authority will
enable more talent attraction and tourism to West Michigan.
House Bill 4468, sponsored by state Rep. Rob VerHeulen, provides for the incorporation of a
regional airport authority to assume jurisdiction of an airport that is owned or operated by a
municipality. The bill was cosponsored by Kent County representatives from both parties and
approved unanimously by the House and Senate. It is now Public Act 95 of 2015.
The governor today also signed 13 other bills:
HB 4052, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Poleski, continues work to bolster the states job creation
climate by ensuring that regulations regarding employment matters are uniform statewide, rather
than a patchwork of varying local ordinances employers must navigate. The legislation allows
policies and agreements already established at the municipal level to continue. It is now PA 96.
HBs 4496 and 4497, sponsored by state Rep. Roger Victory, allow school districts to recalculate
their millage rates for the repayment of bonds used to make capital improvements using the original
rate rather than previous years recalculated rates, and allow districts to qualify for refinancing so
long as they meet the requirements of the Revised Municipal Finance Act. They are now PAs 97 and
98, respectively.
HBs 4271 and 4276, sponsored by state Rep. Lisa Lyons, and 4272, 4273, 4274, and 4385,
sponsored by Dan Lauwers, Kurt Heise, Klint Kesto and Brad Jacobsen, respectively, eliminate
regular February election dates, giving local municipalities the opportunity to save thousands of
dollars by consolidating dates. The bills are now PAs 99, 100, 101, 102, 103 and 104.
HB 4447, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka, sets fee schedules for inspecting, assessing and
licensing health care facilities to ensure quality compliance. It is now PA 105.
HB 4457, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Runestad, gets rid of a fee charged to potential adoptive
parents who register with the state. It is now PA 106.

Senate Bill 217, sponsored by state Sen. Darwin Booher, allows property that contains a
combination of agricultural use and forest used for timber harvest to be considered qualified forest
property for tax purposes. It is now PA 107.
SB 108, sponsored by state Sen. Dale Zorn, allows local units of government, including school
districts, to form district libraries. It is now PA 108.
For more information on this and other legislation, visit http://www.legislature.michigan.gov.

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