November 6, 2008, Introduced by Senator SWITALSKI and referred to the Committee on Finance.
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
(MCL 211.1 to 211.155) by adding section 7oo.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 7oo. (1) For taxes levied after December 31, 2008 through
December 31, 2018, except as otherwise provided in subsection (2),
property that is a vegetative filter strip is exempt from the
collection of taxes under this act.
(2) An exemption under this section is not available for
property enrolled in a federal acreage set-aside program or a
federal conservation reserve program.
(3) A person may submit a claim for exemption under this
section on a form prescribed by the department of treasury in
consultation with the department of agriculture and the department
of natural resources.
(4) A joint report by the department of agriculture and the
department of natural resources concerning the effect and impact of
the exemption of vegetative filter strips under this section shall
be submitted to the legislature within 1 year after the effective
date of this act.
(5) As used in this section, "vegetative filter strip" means a
strip or area of vegetation located between a farm field and an
area to be protected, including, but not limited to, surface water,
a stream, a river, or a sinkhole, that is intended to remove
sediment, organic matter, and other pollutants from runoff and
wastewater and that contains vegetation that meets all of the
following requirements:
(a) Has a dense top growth.
(b) Forms a uniform ground cover.
(c) Has a heavy fibrous root system.
(d) Tolerates pesticides used in the farm field.