Act No. 382

Public Acts of 2006

Approved by the Governor

September 26, 2006

Filed with the Secretary of State

September 27, 2006

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 27, 2006

STATE OF MICHIGAN

93RD LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2006

Introduced by Reps. Elsenheimer, Schuitmaker, Stahl, Robertson, Booher, Emmons, Huizenga, Taub and Walker

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5454

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled "An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 51105, 51106, 51108, and 51116 (MCL 324.51105, 324.51106, 324.51108, and 324.51116), section 51105 as amended by 1996 PA 451 and sections 51106, 51108, and 51116 as added by 1995 PA 57.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 51105. (1) Commercial forests are not subject to the ad valorem general property tax after the date the township supervisor is notified by the department that the land is a commercial forest, except taxes as previously levied. Except as otherwise provided in part 512 and as provided in subsection (5), commercial forests are subject to an annual specific tax as follows:

(a) Until December 31, 2006, $1.10 per acre.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011, $1.20 per acre.

(c) Beginning January 1, 2012 and every 5 years after that date, the amount of the annual specific tax under this section shall be increased by 5 cents per acre.

(2) The supervisor of the township shall remove from the list of land descriptions assessed and taxed under the
ad valorem general property tax the land descriptions certified to him or her by the department as being commercial forests and shall enter those land descriptions on a roll separate from lands assessed and taxed by the ad valorem general property tax and shall spread against these commercial forests the specific tax provided by this section.

(3) The township treasurer shall collect the specific tax at the same time and in the same manner as ad valorem general property taxes are collected and this tax is subject to the same collection charges levied for the collection of
ad valorem property taxes. Commercial forests are subject to return and sale for nonpayment of taxes in the same manner, at the same time, and under the same penalties as lands returned and sold for nonpayment of taxes levied under the ad valorem general property tax laws. A valuation shall not be determined for descriptions listed as commercial forests and these lands shall not be considered by the county board of commissioners or by the state board of equalization in connection with county or state equalization for ad valorem property taxation purposes.

(4) Except as provided in section 51109(2), all sums collected pursuant to this section shall be distributed by the township treasurer in the same proportions to the various funds as the ad valorem general property tax is allocated in the township.

(5) Commercial forestland located in a renaissance zone under the Michigan renaissance zone act, 1996 PA 376, MCL125.2681 to 125.2696, is exempt from the annual specific tax levied under this section to the extent and for the duration provided pursuant to that act.

Sec. 51106. (1) On December 1 of each year, the department shall certify to the state treasurer the number of acres that are commercial forestlands in each county and the state treasurer shall transmit to the treasurer of each county in which these commercial forests are located a warrant on the state treasurer for an amount equal to the following for commercial forest in the county:

(a) Until December 31, 2011, $1.20 per acre.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2012 and every 5 years after that date, the amount of the annual payment under this section shall be increased by 5 cents per acre.

(2) From the payments received under subsection (1), the county treasurer of each county shall distribute an amount equal to 25 cents per acre for each acre of commercial forest in the county in the same proportions between the various funds as the ad valorem general property tax is distributed by the township treasurers in each township. Except as provided by section 51109(2), the county treasurer of each county shall distribute the remainder of the funds received under this section in the same manner and in the same proportion as ad valorem taxes collected under the ad valorem general property tax.

Sec. 51108. (1) An owner of a commercial forest may withdraw his or her land, in whole or in part, from the operation of this part upon application to the department and payment of the withdrawal application fee and penalty, as provided in this section.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this section, upon application to the department to withdraw commercial forestland from the operation of this part, the applicant shall forward to the department a withdrawal application fee in the amount of $1.00 per acre with a minimum withdrawal application fee of $200.00 per application and a maximum withdrawal application fee of $1,000.00 per application.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an application to withdraw commercial forestland from the operation of this part shall be granted upon the payment to the township treasurer in which the commercial forestland is located of a penalty. Except as provided in subsection (4), the withdrawal penalty shall be calculated in the following manner:

(a) Multiply the number of acres of commercial forestland withdrawn from the operation of this part by the average value per acre for comparable property acquired within the last 10 years under subpart 14 of part 21, as determined by the state tax commission under section 2153.

(b) Multiply the product of the calculation in subdivision (a) by the total millage rate levied by all taxing units in the local tax collecting unit in which the property is located.

(c) Multiply the product of the calculation in subdivision (b) by the number of years, to a maximum of 7 years, in which the property withdrawn from the operation of this part has been designated as commercial forestland under this part.

(4) For a period of 1 year after the effective date of the 2006 amendments to this section, the withdrawal penalty is as follows:

(a) Subject to subdivision (b), the withdrawal penalty that was in effect immediately prior to the effective date of the 2006 amendments to this section.

(b) If all of the following occur, an owner of commercial forestland is not subject to a withdrawal penalty:

(i) An owner of commercial forestland withdraws his or her land from the operation of this part as provided in this section.

(ii) The former commercial forestland is placed on the assessment roll in the local tax collecting unit in which the former commercial forestland is located.

(iii) The owner of the former commercial forestland claims and is granted an exemption from the tax levied by a local school district for school operating purposes under section 7jj of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL211.7jj.

(5) An application to withdraw commercial forestland from the operation of this part that meets 1 or more of the following requirements shall be granted without payment of the withdrawal application fee or penalty under this section:

(a) Commercial forestland that has been donated to a public body for public use prior to withdrawal.

(b) Commercial forestland that has been exchanged for property belonging to a public body if the property received is designated as a commercial forest as determined by the department.

(c) Commercial forestland that has been condemned for public use.

(6) The department shall remit the withdrawal application fee paid pursuant to subsection (2) to the state treasurer for deposit into the fund. The penalty received by the township treasurer under subsection (3) shall be distributed by the township treasurer in the same proportions to the various funds as the ad valorem general property tax is allocated in the township, except as provided by section 51109(2).

(7) If an application to withdraw commercial forestland is granted, the department shall immediately notify the applicant, the supervisor of the township, and the register of deeds of the county in which the lands are located of the action and shall file with those officials a list of the lands withdrawn.

Sec. 51116. If, after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the department determines that a commercial forest was used in violation of this part, that the owner failed to pay the specific tax pursuant to section 51105, that the owner failed to report to the department pursuant to section 51111, that minerals were removed in violation of section51113, or, after an owner certifies to the department that a forest management plan has been prepared and is in effect, that the owner failed to plant, harvest, or remove forest products in compliance with the owner's forest management plan, then the department shall remove the commercial forest designation for the commercial forest, serve a notice of declassification of the lands upon the owner, and record a copy of the declassification in the office of the register of deeds of the county in which the lands are located. Upon declassification, the land is subject to the ad valorem general property tax. Within 30 days after the service of the declassification notice on the owner, the owner shall pay both of the following:

(a) A fee equal to the withdrawal application fee described in section 51108 to the department for deposit into the fund.

(b) An amount equal to the penalty described in section 51108 to the township treasurer of the township in which the land is located to be distributed, except as provided in section 51109(2), in the same proportions to the various funds as the ad valorem general property tax is allocated in the township.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 93rd Legislature are enacted into law:

(a) House Bill No. 5455.

(b) Senate Bill No. 912.

(c) Senate Bill No. 917.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor