Economic development: other; economic development incentive evaluation act; amend to reflect elimination of the Michigan strategic fund. Amends secs. 3, 5 & 7 of 2018 PA 540 (MCL 18.1753 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0631'25
SB 644 amends Michigan’s Economic Development Incentive Evaluation Act to update terminology and procedures for reviewing state economic development incentives. The bill keeps the existing framework that requires periodic independent evaluations of incentives such as tax credits, abatements, grants, loans, and loan guarantees, but revises references to the Michigan Strategic Fund and its bureau to reflect the elimination or restructuring of that entity. It also clarifies that the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, working with the Department of Treasury and the relevant bureau, is responsible for contracting with outside evaluators and setting the scope of those reviews.
The bill requires evaluations to be completed within 270 days of contract execution and delivered to legislative appropriations committees within 30 days after completion. It preserves the schedule for reviewing incentives: at least every six years for programs funded with $15 million or less annually, at least every four years for larger programs, and once at the conclusion of an incentive program. It also requires the department to publish evaluations, contractor names, and the review schedule on its website, while giving affected agencies and recipients an opportunity to respond before publication.
The bill amends sections 3, 5, and 7 of the 2018 Economic Development Incentive Evaluation Act, updating statutory definitions and administrative references tied to the Michigan Strategic Fund and its bureau. It affects how the state identifies, schedules, and publicly reports on economic development incentive evaluations, but it does not create new incentive programs or change the underlying tax or grant authorities themselves. It also preserves confidentiality protections for proprietary or commercial information shared during evaluations and continues to exempt certain records from FOIA disclosure.
The available context suggests the bill is largely procedural and technical, with the main purpose being to conform the law to the elimination of the Michigan Strategic Fund and keep the evaluation system operating. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the materials supplied. The bill’s tie-bar to SB 631 indicates it is part of a broader legislative package, which suggests coordination rather than controversy.
The main point of contention appears to be structural rather than policy-based: the bill repeatedly replaces references to the Michigan Strategic Fund with the bureau of fair competition and free enterprise, reflecting a broader reorganization of economic development oversight. Another possible issue is the balance between transparency and confidentiality, since the bill requires publication of evaluations while also protecting financial, commercial, and proprietary information from disclosure. No specific stakeholder objections are included in the provided record, but affected parties would include the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, the Department of Treasury, the Michigan Strategic Fund or successor bureau, incentive recipients, and legislative appropriations committees.