Bill Text: MI SB0206 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Natural resources; funding; Michigan natural resources trust fund; clarify criteria for eligible expenditures. Amends secs. 1903, 1905 & 1907 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.1903 et seq.) & adds sec. 1907b.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-12 - Referred To Committee On Natural Resources [SB0206 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-SB0206-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 206

 

 

March 12, 2015, Introduced by Senators BOOHER, CASPERSON, ROBERTSON, EMMONS and BRANDENBURG and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

by amending sections 1903, 1905, and 1907 (MCL 324.1903, 324.1905,

 

and 324.1907), section 1903 as amended by 2011 PA 117 and sections

 

1905 and 1907 as amended by 2012 PA 619, and by adding section

 

1907b.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1903. (1) Subject to the limitations of this part and of

 

section 35 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963, the

 

interest and earnings of the trust fund in any 1 state fiscal year

 

may be expended in subsequent state fiscal years only for the

 

following purposes:

 

     (a) The acquisition of land or rights in land for recreational

 

uses or protection of the land because of its environmental

 

importance or its scenic beauty.

 

     (b) The development of public recreation facilities.

 

     (c) The administration of the fund, including full funding for

 

all payments in lieu of taxes on state-owned land purchased through

 

the trust fund. The legislature shall make appropriations from the

 

trust fund each state fiscal year to make full payments in lieu of

 

taxes on state-owned land purchased through the trust fund, as

 

provided in section 2154.

 

     (2) In addition to the money described in subsection (1), 33-

 

1/3% of the money, exclusive of interest and earnings, received by

 

the trust fund in any state fiscal year may be expended in

 

subsequent state fiscal years for the purposes described in

 

subsection (1). However, the authorization for the expenditure of

 

money provided in this subsection does not apply after the state

 

fiscal year in which the total amount of money in the trust fund,

 

exclusive of interest and earnings and amounts authorized for

 

expenditure under this section, exceeds $500,000,000.00.

 

     (2) (3) An expenditure from the trust fund may be made in the

 

form of a grant to a local unit of government or public authority,

 

subject to all of the following conditions:

 

     (a) The grant is used for the purposes described in subsection

 

(1).

 

     (b) The grant is matched by the local unit of government or

 

public authority with at least 25% of the total cost of the

 

project.

 

     (3) (4) Not less than 25% of the total amounts made available

 

for expenditure from the trust fund from any state fiscal year

 

shall be expended for acquisition of land and rights in land, and

 

not more than 25% of the total amounts made available for

 

expenditure from the trust fund from any state fiscal year shall be

 

expended for development of public recreation facilities.

 

     (4) (5) If property that was acquired with money from the

 

trust fund is subsequently sold or transferred by the this state to

 

a nongovernmental entity, the state shall forward to the state

 

treasurer for deposit into the trust fund an amount of money equal

 

to the following:

 

     (a) If the property was acquired solely with trust fund money,

 

the greatest of the following:

 

     (i) The net proceeds of the sale.

 

     (ii) The fair market value of the property at the time of the

 

sale or transfer.

 

     (iii) The amount of money that was expended from the trust fund

 

to acquire the property.

 

     (b) If the property was acquired with a combination of trust

 

fund money and other restricted funding sources governed by federal

 

or state law, an amount equal to the percentage of the funds

 

contributed by the trust fund for the acquisition of the property

 

multiplied by the greatest of the amounts under subdivision (a)(i),

 

(ii), and (iii).

 

     (5) The department may transfer property that was acquired

 

with money from the trust fund to a local unit of government for

 

less than fair market value if the local unit of government has

 

adopted a plan to develop public recreation facilities on the

 

property and has committed an amount equal to at least 25% of the

 

fair market value of the property to the development of the

 

property for recreation. All proceeds of a transfer received by the

 

department under this subsection shall be deposited into the trust

 

fund.

 

     (6) The department shall not include a reverter clause or

 

right of reentry clause in the transfer of property that was

 

acquired with money from the trust fund.

 

     Sec. 1905. (1) The Michigan natural resources trust fund board

 

is established within the department. The board shall have the

 

powers and duties of an agency transferred under a type I transfer

 

pursuant to section 3 of the executive organization act of 1965,

 

1965 PA 380, MCL 16.103. The board shall be administered under the

 

supervision of the department and the department shall offer its

 

cooperation and aid to the board and shall provide suitable offices

 

and equipment for the board.

 

     (2) The board shall consist of 5 members. The members shall

 

include the director or a member of the commission as determined by

 

the commission, and 4 residents of the this state to be appointed

 

by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.

 

     (3) The terms of the appointive members shall be 4 years,

 

except that of those first appointed, 1 shall be appointed for 1

 

year, 1 shall be appointed for 2 years, 1 shall be appointed for 3

 

years, and 1 shall be appointed for 4 years. However, an appointed

 

member shall not be appointed to serve for more than 2 terms.

 

     (4) The appointive members may be removed by the governor for

 

inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

 

     (5) Vacancies on the board shall be filled for the unexpired

 

term in the same manner as the original appointments.

 

     (6) The board may incur expenses necessary to carry out its

 

powers and duties under this part and shall compensate its members

 

for actual expenses incurred in carrying out their official duties.

 

     Sec. 1907. (1) The board shall determine which lands and

 

rights in land within the this state should be acquired and which

 

public recreation facilities should be developed with money from

 

the trust fund and shall submit to the legislature in January of

 

each year a list of those lands and rights in land and those public

 

recreation facilities that the board has determined should be

 

acquired or developed with trust fund money, compiled in order of

 

priority. The list prepared under this subsection shall be based

 

upon the accounting of revenues available for expenditure as

 

described in the report prepared under section 1902(5) and shall

 

contain proposed appropriations for recreation facilities equal to

 

25% of the interest and earnings of the trust fund from the

 

previous year and proposed appropriations from other money

 

available for appropriation. In preparing the list under this

 

subsection, the board shall do all of the following:

 

     (a) Allow for the purchase of land or rights in land

 

previously purchased with federal funds or other restricted state

 

funds in a manner that allows restrictions to be removed to provide

 

for greater use of the property.

 

     (b) Allow for the reimbursement of federal funds that were

 

used to purchase land or rights in land in a manner that allows

 

restrictions to be removed to provide for greater use of the

 

property.

 

     (c) If sufficient applications are received, provide for at

 

least 25% of the money available for acquisition of land or rights

 

in land to be used for trails.

 

     (d) Allow up to 50% of the funding available for development

 

projects to be available for multiyear development projects.

 

     (e) Allow funding for the acquisition of land, or rights in

 

land, that has already been developed or is proposed for

 

development for public recreation facilities. Funding for projects

 

under this subdivision shall come from the money authorized in

 

section 1903(1)(a).

 

     (f) (a) Give a preference to the following:

 

     (i) A project or acquisition that is located within a local

 

unit of government that has adopted a resolution in support of the

 

project or acquisition.

 

     (ii) The acquisition of land and rights in land for

 

recreational trails that intersect the downtown areas of cities and

 

villages.

 

     (g) (b) Identify each parcel of land that is recommended for

 

acquisition by legal description and include the estimated cost of

 

acquisition and assessed value.

 

     (h) For each parcel of land that is recommended for

 

acquisition by the department, include the provisions of the

 

strategic plan provided for in section 503 applicable to that

 

parcel and a description of how the acquisition of that land will

 

be consistent with the strategic plan.

 

     (i) (c) Provide a scoring of each parcel of land recommended

 

for acquisition individually.

 

     (j) (d) Give consideration to an acquisition that meets either

 

or both of the following:

 

     (i) Is located within a county that contains 50% or more

 

privately owned land.

 

     (ii) Allows motorized recreational use.

 

     (2) In preparing the list of lands to be acquired or developed

 

under subsection (1), the following apply:

 

     (a) The board shall not include an acquisition of land on the

 

list if the board determines that the seller was harassed,

 

intimidated, or coerced into selling his or her land by the

 

department, a local unit of government, or a qualified conservation

 

organization.

 

     (b) A project or acquisition may be named in honor or memory

 

of an individual or organization.

 

     (3) The list prepared under subsection (1) shall be

 

accompanied by estimates of total costs for the proposed

 

acquisitions and developments.

 

     (4) The board shall supply with the list prepared under

 

subsection (1) a statement of the guidelines used in listing and

 

assigning the priority of these proposed acquisitions and

 

developments.

 

     (5) The legislature shall approve by law the lands and rights

 

in land and the public recreation facilities to be acquired or

 

developed each year with money from the trust fund.

 

     (6) As used in this section, "qualified conservation

 

organization" means that term as it is defined in section 7o of the

 

general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7o.

 

     Sec. 1907b. (1) The department shall not acquire land in this

 

state with funding from any source unless the department has first

 

submitted an application for funding from the trust fund and

 

funding from the trust fund for the acquisition of that land has

 

been denied.

 

     (2) If land is acquired by the department with money from the

 

trust fund, the department shall not restrict access to that land.