Gilbert has argued that incentives would be necessary to make his upcoming projects in Detroit financially feasible.īecause he has financial interest in one of Michigan’s casinos, state law bars Gilbert and legal entities controlled by Gilbert from making political contributions at the state level in Michigan.
According to material distributed by the coalition supporting the bills, Rock Ventures is planning a $2.5 billion “transformational new development.” The development apparently includes - but is not limited to - a 52-story building at the site of the former J.L.
While there are projects that could qualify for the incentives in the works across the state, according to supporters of the bills, the ones receiving the most attention have been from Gilbert’s Rock Ventures in Detroit. The bills limit total reimbursements for eligible projects across the state to $40 million per year and limit total incentives provided to $1 billion. Captured revenue could then be used to help with development projects. The bills would allow for the capture of income tax revenue from employees working on the targeted properties and residents living on the properties. Gilbert, the richest man in Michigan, according to Forbes, came to Lansing to testify in support of them in December 2016. Others call them the “Gilbert bills” because of Gilbert’s work to support the proposals. In Lansing, the incentive bills are known by some as the “brownfield bills” because they target incentives for developments that could be complicated by contamination. Rock Ventures was a registered lobbyist from 2013 to 2016. Over that 10-year period, the two combined to spend $263,509, according to disclosures. That’s more than the two disclosed spending over the previous decade, 2006 to 2015. Over 2016 and the first seven months of 2017, Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, another Gilbert business entity, disclosed spending a total of $303,552 on lobbying. “This legislation is key to closing existing funding gaps surrounding brownfield sites and creating vibrant communities where Michiganders can live, work and play,” Snyder said in the press release announcing the bills’ signing. But on May 4, 2017, the House voted to approve a revised version of the bills. In 2016, bills to bring new tax incentives, supported by Quicken Loans and its owner, Dan Gilbert, stalled in the Michigan House. The committees of 56 state House members - about half of those serving in the House - received contributions from donors tied to Quicken Loans over the first seven months of the year. Those contributions tended to focus on Michigan House members.
Lobbyists and top officials working for Quicken Loans also wrote more checks to financially support lawmakers’ campaigns in 2017, according to campaign finance disclosures. Quicken Loans ranked as the 17th largest spender on lobbying in Michigan for the first seven months of the year, according to state data. LANSING - As its chairman pushed for tax breaks to help spur a 52-story development in downtown Detroit, mortgage company Quicken Loans increased its efforts to develop relationships with Lansing lawmakers.Īccording to new disclosures, Quicken Loans spent more on lobbying state government in the first seven months of 2017 - $159,475 - than it had spent in an entire year previously. Amid Push For Tax Incentives, Quicken Loans Boosted Lobbying Efforts In 2017, Quicken Loans Increased Its Spending on Lobbying And Key Employees Contributed To Half Of The Michigan House, New Disclosures Show
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