EXPAND ESTABLISHMENT OF METRO REGION COUNCILS
House Bill 5746
Sponsor: Rep. Paul N. DeWeese
Committee: Local Government and Urban Policy
Complete to 3-4-02
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5746 AS INTRODUCED 2-26-02
The Metropolitan Councils Act allows two or more "qualified counties" acting with one or more "qualified cities" to form a metropolitan region council to "develop or enhance regional cultural institutions and local recreation and cultural facilities, other than facilities that are primarily designed or used for professional sports, within the geographic boundaries of qualified counties participating in the council." Currently, to qualify for participation, a city must be located in a participating qualified county, must own two or more regional cultural institutions (as defined by the act), and must have a population of at least 700,000 persons, according to the most recent federal decennial census. A county must have a population of not less than 780,000 and either have a qualified city within its boundaries or be contiguous to a county with a qualified city. (Currently, the Detroit metropolitan area is the only area that meets those population requirements.)
The bill would amend the act's definitions of "qualified city" and "qualified county" to increase the number of cities and counties that could create metropolitan region councils. A qualified city would still have to be located in a participating qualified county and own at least two regional cultural institutions, but the bill would eliminate the general minimum population threshold of 700,000 for a city. In place of this general threshold, the bill would create four classes of counties that could qualify for participation if the county met certain population requirements and it contained a city that met other population requirements. The county would also have to contain a qualified city, though the qualified city would not necessarily have to be the city that met the population requirement. Specifically, a county that met any one of the following sets of requirements would qualify for participation:
· Has a population of at least 780,000 persons, contains a city with a population of not less than 700,000 persons, and has a qualified city within its boundaries or is contiguous to a county with a qualified city;
· Has a population of less than 300,000 persons, contains a city with a population of more than 100,000, and has a qualified city within its boundaries;
· Has a population of more than 90,000, contains a city of more than 8,000 but less than 20,000 persons, and has a qualified city within its boundaries; or
· Has a population of more than 57,000 but less than 70,000, contains a city of more than 6,000 but less than 7,500 persons, and has a qualified city within its boundaries.
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.