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Downstate senator blocking movement on ‘dark store’ measure

We are now well into the state Legislature’s lame duck session, refering to the period following an election in November when new lawmakers are chosen but before they take office in January.

It’s a short window of time when little happens due to the inabilities of outgoing politicians to move their agendas forward.

The lame duck session in Lansing might as well have begun in early June when it comes to legislation intended to close the property tax loophole known as the “dark store” method, which is another phrase we are all too familiar with here in the Upper Peninsula.

The Michigan House of Representatives on June 8 overwhelmingly supported a dark store bill by passing it with a 97-11 vote. But after being sent to a Senate committee the following day, the initiative hasn’t moved an inch.

House Bill 5578 focuses on the highest and best use determination and accepted appraisal principles by the Michigan Tax Tribunal when making judgments on the taxable value of a property and comparables. For several years now, big box stores and others have used the dark store method to significantly reduce the taxable value of their properties by comparing those buildings, some of which were just recently built, to other stores that have closed or gone “dark.”

That move, often permitted by the tax tribunal, results in much lower tax revenue received by local municipalities, causing some to adjust their budgets and take a hard look at what services they can actually afford to provide their residents.

It has come to our attention that a specific downstate senator has decided against taking this issue seriously, much to the dismay of U.P. officials and taxpayers hoping to reverse this dark store trend.

Sen. Jack Brandenburg is chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Finance, where the dark store legislation seems to be stuck. As chairman of that committee, Brandenburg holds the discretionary power over which bills can be taken up for a committee hearing. Bills typically must work their way through various committees before being considered by the Senate or House as a whole, and eventually sent to the governor’s desk for his or her signature.

Mr. Brandenburg, according to his website, www.senatorjackbrandenburg.com, says it is a pleasure and honor to serve those in the Michigan Senate’s 8th District, which covers a part of Macomb County.

“Consistently being ranked as the Senate’s most conservative member I take pride in standing up for taxpayers,” Brandenburg’s website states. “The values and beliefs in our area are strong and I respect that. I take the passion our area is known for to Lansing to fight for what we believe in.”

We up here in the U.P. are curious what taxpayers and residents of the 8th District value and believe in.

If they support big box stores not having to pay a fair share of taxes and less revenue for local municipalities to play with, then it seems Brandenburg is serving their interests well.

It may be that Brandenburg’s district isn’t as affected by the dark store method as the U.P. communities are. But it’s our belief they will be if the loophole isn’t fixed.

The dark store problem has continued to spread throughout our state, and earlier this year it seemed a solution was near. However, the legislative fix our community has been awaiting for years remains stagnant, stuck in the mud of the Senate’s finance committee.

Brandenburg should do the right thing and give the bill a hearing so that we can finally put this issue to bed.

— The Mining Journal, Marquette

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