DETROIT TEAM/MIS PLATES                                                                   S.B. 178 (S-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                      REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 178 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Senator Jim Stamas

Committee:  Transportation

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to do the following:

-- Require the Secretary of State (SOS), by January 1, 2018, to develop and issue fund-raising plates or collector plates recognizing the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons, and Michigan International Speedway (MIS).

-- Create the "Detroit Red Wings Fund", the "Detroit Tigers Fund", the "Detroit Lions Fund", the "Detroit Pistons Fund", and the "MIS Cares Fund".

-- Require donations for the proposed plates to be deposited into the respective Fund, to be distributed to the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, the Detroit Tigers Foundation, the Detroit Lions Charities, the Come Together Foundation, and MIS Cares, as applicable.

-- Require each of those recipients to disburse the money to tax-exempt eligible nonprofit organizations.

-- Require the SOS to discount a start-up fee to reflect any cost savings realized if multiple new fund-raising plates were developed at the same time.

-- Specify that the SOS could not cease to issue a fund-raising plate that was available for sale on February 1, 2017, and that failed to meet a sales goal, if the failure occurred before that date.

MCL 257.811e & 257.811h                                         Legislative Analyst:  Drew Krogulecki

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would create a start-up cost to the Department of State. The current estimated start-up fee is $15,000 but would have to be discounted if the Secretary of State realized cost savings from the development of multiple new plates at the same time. As prescribed in the Code, the start-up fee for each new plate would be paid to the Department by the sponsoring entity; however, the bill does not include such a requirement. The State Treasurer would disburse payments from the proposed Funds on a quarterly basis to the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, the Detroit Tigers Foundation, the Detroit Lions Charities, the Come Together Foundation, and MIS Cares, which would be required to distribute the funds to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations.

The bill would have no fiscal impact on local government.

Date Completed:  3-16-17                                                    Fiscal Analyst:  Joe Carrasco

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.