SB-0670, As Passed Senate, December 13, 2006

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 670

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

by amending sections 30113, 33901, 33902, 33903, 33904, 33908,

33910, 33911, 33916, 33924, 33929, and 33935 (MCL 324.30113,

324.33901, 324.33902, 324.33903, 324.33904, 324.33908, 324.33910,

324.33911, 324.33916, 324.33924, 324.33929, and 324.33935), section

30113 as amended by 2004 PA 325 and sections 33901, 33902, 33903,

33904, 33908, 33910, 33911, 33916, 33924, 33929, and 33935 as added

by 1995 PA 59; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 30113. (1) The land and water management permit fee fund

is created within the state treasury.

     (2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from

any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall

direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit

to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments. The state

treasurer shall annually present to the department an accounting of

the amount of money in the fund.

     (3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall

remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.

     (4) The department shall expend money from the fund, upon

appropriation, only to implement this part and the following:

     (a) Sections 3104, 3107, and 3108.

     (b) Before October 1, 2004, section 12562 of the public health

code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.12562, or, on or after October 1, 2004,

part 33.

     (c) Part 303.

     (d) Part 315.

     (e) Part 323.

     (f) Part 325.

     (g) Part 339.

(h)  (g) Part 353.

(i)  (h) Section 117 of the land division act, 1967 PA 288,

MCL 560.117.

     (5) The department shall annually report to the legislature

how money in the fund was expended during the previous fiscal year.

     Sec. 33901. All of the unpatented overflowed lands, made

lands, and  lake  Lake St. Clair bottomlands belonging to this

state or held in trust by  it  this state as provided in this part

shall be held, leased, disposed of by deed, and controlled by the

department in the manner provided in this part.

     Sec. 33902. The department shall not deed or convey the lands

described in section 33901 except as provided in sections 33903 to

33911.  , but may lease lands of the character described in section

33901 to a person for the purposes and in the manner provided in

this part. The department may dedicate unleased lands of the

character described in section 33901 for public hunting, fishing,

and other recreational uses.

     Sec. 33903. The department, upon application of any person

holding  who, on the effective date of the 2006 amendatory act that

amended this section, holds a lease of any portion or portions of

land from this state pursuant to former  Act No. 326 of the Public

Acts of 1913  1913 PA 326, or this part, or upon application by

that person's heirs or assigns, shall execute and deliver to the

applicant or his or her heirs or assigns a deed conveying to him or

her all of the right, title, and interest of this state in and to

the lands described in this section, subject to the paramount

rights of navigation, hunting, and fishing that remain in the

general public and in the government as now existing and recognized

by law. The deeds shall contain the  same provisions as to

residency and club use and occupancy as now set forth in all leases

previously granted under former  Act No. 326 of the Public Acts of

1913  1913 PA 326.  The lands covered by this section are that

portion of the St. Clair Flats, township of Clay, St. Clair county,

Michigan, as surveyed under former Act No. 175 of the Public Acts

of 1899, which front upon or are a part of the south, middle, and

Sni Bora channel sections as follows:

     South channel section, lots 2-601 inclusive, excepting

therefrom portions described in Act No. 5 of the Public Acts of

1938 and already conveyed to the federal government pursuant to

that act.

     Also any interior lands so-called, lying between lots 452-601

inclusive, south channel section, and the highway known as M-154;

and in addition thereto the lands leased under section 11 of former

Act No. 326 of the Public Acts of 1913, and particularly described

therein.

     Also middle channel section, lots 29-34 inclusive, lots 39-53

inclusive, lots 82 and 83 lying north of middle channel drive, lots

84-107 inclusive, lots 109 and 111, and lots 163-215 inclusive,

also Sni Bora channel section, lots 147-162 inclusive and lots 167-

202 inclusive. An application under this section must be filed at

least 1 year before the date on which the lease expires. 

     Sec. 33904. Before the department grants a deed, there shall

be presented evidence that the applicant requesting the deed is the

lessee of the land, that the land is part of the lands described in

section 33903, and that all taxes on the land are paid.  Upon

presentation of evidence of these facts satisfactory to the

department, together with a sum of money to be determined by the

department, the applicant shall be given a deed. All property  so

deeded under this part is thereafter subject to the general

property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1 to 211.157, and the

recording laws of this state.

     Sec. 33908. The consideration  as received for the execution

and delivery of  any of the deeds  provided for in  under this

part  shall be credited to the general fund of this state.  and all

fees collected under this part shall be forwarded to the state

treasurer and credited to the land and water management permit fee

fund created in section 30113.

     Sec. 33910. The department, in its discretion, upon

application of  any  a person holding a lease or deed under this

part to any lands lying contiguous to  any  a water highway as

surveyed under former  Act No. 175 of the Public Acts of 1899 and

where  1899 PA 175, if it is determined that  such  the water

highway is no longer needed for navigation, ingress, and egress to

surveyed lots, or for any public use, whether dredged or not, may

execute and deliver to the applicant  a lease under section 33912,

or a deed subject to all the applicable conditions and provisions

of sections 33902 to  33909  33908, to all of the right, title, and

interest of the state in and to 1/2 of the surveyed width of that

portion of the water highway as lies contiguous to land held under

lease or deed by the applicant.  Where a lease is issued, its term

may be made to run concurrent with that of the lease held by the

applicant for the contiguous land.

     Sec. 33911. (1) Upon application of a person that holds a

lease from this state of any portion or portions of the real

property described in  subsection (2)  this part, the department

may execute and deliver to the applicant a deed conveying all of

the right, title, and interest of this state in and to that real

property, subject to the paramount rights of hunting, fishing, and

navigation, which remain in the general public and in the

government as recognized by law. The deeds shall contain the same

provisions as to use and occupancy now set forth in all the leases

previously granted under former  Act No. 326 of the Public Acts of

1913  1913 PA 326 or under this part. The department shall not

grant a deed under this part unless the lessee of the subject

property agrees to cancel the lease and relinquishes all rights

under the lease.

     (2) The real property to which this section applies are that

portion of the St. Clair Flats, Township of Clay, St. Clair County,

Michigan, as surveyed under former Act No. 175 of the Public Acts

of 1899, that front upon or are a part of the North and Sni Bora

channel section and middle channel section described as:

     (a) Sni Bora Channel, the northeast one-half of lot 386.

     (b) North Channel, lots 79 and 80.

     (c) Sni Bora channel, lot 366.

     (d) Lot 470, middle channel section.

     (e) Lot 471, middle channel section.

(2)  (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the  The

department shall not grant a deed under this  section  part for a

lot that contains a structure unless the structure and the lot

subject to the deed, including seawalls where present, comply with

the applicable township building code and county and state

sanitation codes and part 325, and the structure is located on a

parcel of land that is adequately protected from erosion.

(3)  (4) A deed granted under this  section  part shall not

include a portion of the original lease that is submerged or lies

below the  ordinary high-water mark of Lake St. Clair, which is

574.5  elevation of 575.3 International Great Lakes Datum (IGLD

1955 1985). The department of environmental quality shall perform

a site inspection and set stakes, if necessary, to identify the

boundaries of the area of the  parcel  leased lot to be deeded. The

applicant may be required to  shall provide a boundary survey,

completed by a professional surveyor, that delineates the area of

the real property to be deeded. The state shall retain proprietary

ownership in trust over the portion of the leased lot below the

ordinary high-water mark of Lake St. Clair at the time of the

conveyance.

(4)  (5) A deed shall not be granted under this  section

part at less than the  fair market value of the real property in

accordance with the current department appraisal procedures for the

eligible parcels  estimated land value of the real property as

determined by the township in which the real property is located.

Appraisal procedures and practices may include utilizing

independent fee appraisal contractors. The appraisal shall not

include improvements such as buildings, seawalls, and docks. Credit

shall not be granted to the lessee for the years remaining on an

unexpired lease when determining the sale value to the state. The

applicant shall remit the full consideration within 1 year after

being notified in writing of the selling price by the department.

If the applicant does not remit the full consideration for the deed

within 1 year, the department shall close the file and a new

application must be submitted.

     (5) If the applicant is not satisfied with the fair market

value determined by the department under subsection (4), the

applicant, within 30 days after receiving the determination, may

submit a petition in writing to the circuit court in the thirty-

first judicial circuit, and the court shall appoint an appraiser or

appraisers from the department's approved listing to conduct an

appraisal of the parcel. The decision of the court is final. The

applicant shall pay all costs associated with this additional

appraisal.

     (6) A request for a deed shall be on a form provided by the

department of environmental quality and shall be accompanied by an

application fee of $500.00.

     Sec. 33916.  All persons who, having been in occupation or

possession of lands of the character named in section 33901 for 1

or more years prior to January 1, 1913, fail to make application

for a lease for the occupation and possession of the lands as

provided for in this part, within 9 months after August 14, 1913,

and all persons who fail after the notification provided for in

section 33915 to make payment of the consideration fixed by the

department within the time and in the manner specified in this

part,  If a lease under this part expires and a deed is not issued

under this part to the former lease holder, the former lease holder

shall be considered  trespassers  to be a trespasser, and an action

may be brought in the circuit court for the county in which  those

lands are  that land is located, in the name of the people of this

state, by the attorney general of this state, to recover possession

of  the lands  that land.

     Sec. 33924.  (1) The words "possession",  As used in this

part:

     (a) "Department" means the department of natural resources

unless expressly indicated otherwise.

     (b) "Possession", "occupancy", and "improvement"  as used in

this part include dredging or ditching, the throwing up of

embankments, sheetpiling, filling in, the erection of fences, a

boathouse, land made by dredging and filling, or building

structures.

     (c)  (2) As used in this part, "person"  "Person" means an

individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other

nongovernmental legal entity.

     (d) "Well maintained" means that any structure on the land

complies with township building codes and current county and state

sanitation codes and part 325 and that the land is adequately

protected from erosion.

     Sec. 33929. (1)  All sales  Each sale or  transfers  transfer

of  leases  a lease shall contain a specific statement of the

purpose for which the property leased is to be used by the

purchaser or assignee.  , and no  A sale or transfer of  any  a

lease for other than club or residence purposes  shall be  is not

valid  , unless and until the sale or transfer is approved by the

department of environmental quality.  The department shall keep a

book of record for the purpose of recording all sales or transfers

of leases, and no sale or transfer of any lease by any lessee shall

be valid unless and until the same is filed for record with the

department.

     (2) Before selling or transferring a property that is subject

to a lease under this part, the parties involved shall apply to the

department of environmental quality for approval of the transfer of

the lease to the purchaser. The application shall be made on a form

provided by the department of environmental quality and shall be

accompanied by a fee of $250.00. Upon approval by the department of

environmental quality, an assignment of lease form shall be

recorded with the county register of deeds.

     Sec. 33935.  The several  Each county  treasurers  treasurer

shall report to the department all descriptions of  the lands where

the same  parcels of property subject to this part that have been

returned for nonpayment of taxes,  and such  if those taxes have

not been paid within 6 months after  such return, the  being

returned for nonpayment of taxes. The report  to  shall be made by

such  the treasurer within 30 days after the  said 6 months shall

have  6-month period has expired. Land leased or deeded under this

part that is returned to state ownership through purchase, gift,

devise, lease expiration, or tax reversion shall not be re-leased

or sold by the state if that land is not well maintained.

     Enacting section 1. Sections 33905, 33909, 33913, 33914,

33915, 33917, 33918, 33919, 33920, 33922, 33923, 33925, 33930,

33931, 33932, 33936, 33937, 33938, and 33939 of the natural

resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL

324.33905, 324.33909, 324.33913, 324.33914, 324.33915, 324.33917,

324.33918, 324.33919, 324.33920, 324.33922, 324.33923, 324.33925,

324.33930, 324.33931, 324.33932, 324.33936, 324.33937, 324.33938,

and 324.33939, are repealed.