State lawmakers burning the midnight oil last Tuesday n order to pass supplemental spending bills during this final session week of 2021. Primarily funded through federal grants, lawmakers dished out $150 million dollars to assist K-through-12 schools in dealing with COVID-19 testing and $193 million to local airports and rural transit authorities, among other things.
The Legislature also voted to approve over $1 million for the St. Clair County Convention Center. Senator Dan Lauwers says the convention center is one of five throughout the state that is owned by a county government and has not been a past recipient of federal COVID-19 relief funds. Lauwers also supported an increase in the Personal Property Tax exemption from $80,000 to $180,000, saying it will help small businesses “counter losses incurred because of COVID-19.”
