May 15, 2003, Introduced by Reps. Caswell, Gillard, Emmons, Nitz, Julian, Brandenburg, Nofs, Milosch, Hummel, Garfield, Drolet, Acciavatti and Ward and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 7dd (MCL 211.7dd), as amended by 1996 PA
476.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 7dd. As used in sections 7cc and 7ee:
2 (a) "Agricultural use" includes all of the following:
3 (i) Substantially undeveloped land devoted to the production
4 of plants and animals useful to humans, including forages and sod
5 crops; grains, feed crops, and field crops; dairy and dairy
6 products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including
7 breeding and grazing of cattle, swine, captive cervidae, and
8 similar animals; berries; herbs; flowers; seeds; grasses; nursery
9 stock; fruits; vegetables; Christmas trees; and other similar
10 uses and activities.
1 (ii) Property enrolled in a federal acreage set-aside program
2 or a federal conservation program.
3 (iii) Undeveloped wooded property of not less than 40 acres
4 that meets all of the following conditions:
5 (A) Is classified as residential real property under section
6 34c.
7 (B) Is owned by a person who claims an exemption for other
8 property as qualified agricultural property under section 7ee.
9 (C) Is not contiguous to the property for which the owner
10 claims an exemption as qualified agricultural property under
11 section 7ee.
12 (D) Is located in the same county or an adjacent county as
13 the property for which the owner claims an exemption as qualified
14 agricultural property under section 7ee.
15 (E) Is not used for residential rental purposes.
16 (F) Is not used for commercial logging operations.
17 (iv) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (iii),
18 agricultural use does not include substantially undeveloped land
19 the primary purpose for which is the management and harvesting of
20 a woodlot.
21 (b) (a) "Homestead"
means that portion of a dwelling or
22 unit in a multiple-unit dwelling that is subject to ad valorem
23 taxes and is owned and occupied as a principal residence by an
24 owner of the dwelling or unit. Homestead also includes all of an
25 owner's unoccupied property classified as residential that is
26 adjoining or contiguous to the dwelling subject to ad valorem
27 taxes and that is owned and occupied as a principal residence by
1 the owner. Contiguity is not broken by a road, a right-of-way,
2 or property purchased or taken under condemnation proceedings by
3 a public utility for power transmission lines if the 2 parcels
4 separated by the purchased or condemned property were a single
5 parcel prior to the sale or condemnation. Homestead also
6 includes any portion of a principal residence of an owner that is
7 rented or leased to another person as a residence as long as that
8 portion of the principal residence that is rented or leased is
9 less than 50% of the total square footage of living space in that
10 principal residence. Homestead also includes a life care
11 facility registered under
the living care disclosure act, Act
12 No. 440 of the Public
Acts of 1976, being sections 554.801 to
13 554.844 of the
Michigan Compiled Laws 1976 PA
440, MCL 554.801
14 to 554.844. Homestead also includes property owned by a
15 cooperative housing corporation and occupied as a principal
16 residence by tenant stockholders.
17 (c) (b) "Owner"
means any of the following:
18 (i) A person who owns property or who is purchasing property
19 under a land contract.
20 (ii) A person who is a partial owner of property.
21 (iii) A person who owns property as a result of being a
22 beneficiary of a will or trust or as a result of intestate
23 succession.
24 (iv) A person who owns or is purchasing a dwelling on leased
25 land.
26 (v) A person holding a life lease in property previously sold
27 or transferred to another.
1 (vi) A grantor who has placed the property in a revocable
2 trust or a qualified personal residence trust.
3 (vii) A cooperative housing corporation.
4 (viii) A facility registered under Act No. 440 of the
Public
5 Acts of 1976 the living care disclosure act, 1976 PA 440, MCL
6 554.801 to 554.844.
7 (d) (c) "Person",
for purposes of defining owner as used in
8 section 7cc, means an individual and for purposes of defining
9 owner as used in section 7ee means an individual, partnership,
10 corporation, limited liability company, association, or other
11 legal entity.
12 (e) (d) "Principal
residence" means the 1 place where a
13 person has his or her true, fixed, and permanent home to which,
14 whenever absent, he or she intends to return and that shall
15 continue as a principal residence until another principal
16 residence is established.
17 (f) (e) "Qualified
agricultural property" means unoccupied
18 property and related buildings classified as agricultural real
19 property, or other unoccupied property and related buildings
20 located on that property devoted primarily to agricultural use.
21 as defined in section
36101 of part 361 (farmland and open space
22 preservation) of the
natural resources and environmental
23 protection act, Act
No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being
24 section 324.36101 of
the Michigan Compiled Laws. Related
25 buildings include a residence occupied by a person employed in or
26 actively involved in the agricultural use and who has not claimed
27 a homestead exemption on other property. Property used for
1 commercial storage, commercial processing, commercial
2 distribution, commercial marketing, or commercial shipping
3 operations or other commercial or industrial purposes is not
4 qualified agricultural property. A parcel of property is devoted
5 primarily to agricultural use only if more than 50% of the
6 parcel's acreage is devoted to agricultural use. An owner shall
7 not receive an exemption for that portion of the total state
8 equalized valuation of the property that is used for a commercial
9 or industrial purpose or that is a residence that is not a
10 related building.