Bill Text: MI SB0862 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Property tax; assessments; certain property deemed qualified agricultural property for purposes of assessment; allow for all contiguous property owned by the landowner to also be deemed agricultural. Amends sec. 34c of 1893 PA 206 (MCL 211.34c).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-12-27 - Assigned Pa 0368'12 With Immediate Effect [SB0862 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-SB0862-Engrossed.html
SB-0862, As Passed Senate, May 23, 2012
SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 862
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 34c (MCL 211.34c), as amended by 2011 PA 320.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 34c. (1) Not later than the first Monday in March in each
year, the assessor shall classify every item of assessable property
according to the definitions contained in this section. Following
the March board of review, the assessor shall tabulate the total
number of items and the valuations as approved by the board of
review for each classification and for the totals of real and
personal property in the local tax collecting unit. The assessor
shall transmit to the county equalization department and to the
state tax commission the tabulation of assessed valuations and
other statistical information the state tax commission considers
necessary to meet the requirements of this act and 1911 PA 44, MCL
209.1 to 209.8.
(2) The classifications of assessable real property are
described as follows:
(a) Agricultural real property includes parcels used partially
or wholly for agricultural operations, with or without buildings.
For taxes levied after December 31, 2002, agricultural real
property includes buildings on leased land used for agricultural
operations. If a parcel of real property is classified as
agricultural real property and is engaged in agricultural
operations, any contiguous parcel owned by the same taxpayer, that
is a vacant parcel, a wooded parcel, or a parcel on which is
located 1 or more agricultural outbuildings that comprise more than
50% of the taxable value of all buildings on that parcel as
indicated by the assessment records for the local tax collecting
unit in which that parcel is located, shall be classified as
agricultural real property. Contiguity is not broken by a boundary
between local tax collecting units, a section boundary, a road, a
right-of-way, or property purchased or taken under condemnation
proceedings by a public utility for power transmission lines if the
2 parcels separated by the purchased or condemned property were a
single parcel prior to the sale or condemnation. It is the intent
of the legislature that if a parcel of real property is classified
as agricultural real property and is engaged in agricultural
operations, any contiguous parcel owned by the same taxpayer, that
is a vacant parcel, a wooded parcel, or a parcel on which is
located 1 or more agricultural outbuildings that comprise more than
50% of the taxable value of all buildings on that parcel as
indicated by the assessment records for the local tax collecting
unit in which that parcel is located, shall be classified as
agricultural real property even if the contiguous parcels are
located in different local tax collecting units. Property shall not
lose its classification as agricultural real property as a result
of an owner or lessee of that property implementing a wildlife risk
mitigation action plan. As used in this subdivision:
(i) "Agricultural outbuilding" means a building or other
structure primarily used for agricultural operations.
(ii) (i) "Agricultural
operations" means the following:
(A) Farming in all its branches, including cultivating soil.
(B) Growing and harvesting any agricultural, horticultural, or
floricultural commodity.
(C) Dairying.
(D) Raising livestock, bees, fish, fur-bearing animals, or
poultry, including operating a game bird hunting preserve licensed
under part 417 of the natural resources and environmental
protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.41701 to 324.41712, and also
including farming operations that harvest cervidae on site where
not less than 60% of the cervidae were born as part of the farming
operation. As used in this subparagraph, "livestock" includes, but
is not limited to, cattle, sheep, new world camelids, goats, bison,
privately owned cervids, ratites, swine, equine, poultry,
aquaculture, and rabbits. Livestock does not include dogs and cats.
(E) Raising, breeding, training, leasing, or boarding horses.
(F) Turf and tree farming.
(G) Performing any practices on a farm incident to, or in
conjunction with, farming operations. A commercial storage,
processing, distribution, marketing, or shipping operation is not
part of agricultural operations.
(iii) (ii) "Project"
means certain risk mitigating measures,
which may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Making it difficult for wildlife to access feed by storing
livestock feed securely, restricting wildlife access to feeding and
watering areas, and deterring or reducing wildlife presence around
livestock feed by storing feed in an enclosed barn, wrapping bales
or covering stacks with tarps, closing ends of bags, storing grains
in animal-proof containers or bins, maintaining fences, practicing
small mammal and rodent control, or feeding away from wildlife
cover.
(B) Minimizing wildlife access to livestock feed and water by
feeding livestock in an enclosed area, feeding in open areas near
buildings and human activity, removing extra or waste feed when
livestock are moved, using hay feeders to reduce waste, using
artificial water systems to help keep livestock from sharing water
sources with wildlife, fencing off stagnant ponds, wetlands, or
areas of wildlife habitats that pose a disease risk, and keeping
mineral feeders near buildings and human activity or using devices
that restrict wildlife usage.
(iv) (iii) "Wildlife
risk mitigation action plan" means a written
plan consisting of 1 or more projects to help reduce the risks of a
communicable disease spreading between wildlife and livestock that
is approved by the department of agriculture and rural development
under the animal industry act, 1988 PA 466, MCL 287.701 to
287.745.287.746.
(b) Commercial real property includes the following:
(i) Platted or unplatted parcels used for commercial purposes,
whether wholesale, retail, or service, with or without buildings.
(ii) Parcels used by fraternal societies.
(iii) Parcels used as golf courses, boat clubs, ski areas, or
apartment buildings with more than 4 units.
(iv) For taxes levied after December 31, 2002, buildings on
leased land used for commercial purposes.
(c) Developmental real property includes parcels containing
more than 5 acres without buildings, or more than 15 acres with a
market value in excess of its value in use. Developmental real
property may include farm land or open space land adjacent to a
population center, or farm land subject to several competing
valuation influences.
(d) Industrial real property includes the following:
(i) Platted or unplatted parcels used for manufacturing and
processing purposes, with or without buildings.
(ii) Parcels used for utilities sites for generating plants,
pumping stations, switches, substations, compressing stations,
warehouses, rights-of-way, flowage land, and storage areas.
(iii) Parcels used for removal or processing of gravel, stone,
or mineral ores, whether valued by the local assessor or by the
state geologist.
(iv) For taxes levied after December 31, 2002, buildings on
leased land used for industrial purposes.
(v) For taxes levied after December 31, 2002, buildings on
leased land for utility purposes.
(e) Residential real property includes the following:
(i) Platted or unplatted parcels, with or without buildings,
and condominium apartments located within or outside a village or
city, which are used for, or probably will be used for, residential
purposes.
(ii) Parcels that are used for, or probably will be used for,
recreational purposes, such as lake lots and hunting lands, located
in an area used predominantly for recreational purposes.
(iii) For taxes levied after December 31, 2002, a home, cottage,
or cabin on leased land, and a mobile home that would be assessable
as real property under section 2a except that the land on which it
is located is not assessable because the land is exempt.
(f) Timber-cutover real property includes parcels that are
stocked with forest products of merchantable type and size, cutover
forest land with little or no merchantable products, and marsh
lands or other barren land. However, when a typical purchase of
this type of land is for residential or recreational uses, the
classification shall be changed to residential.
(3) The classifications of assessable personal property are
described as follows:
(a) Agricultural personal property includes any agricultural
equipment and produce not exempt by law.
(b) Commercial personal property includes the following:
(i) All equipment, furniture, and fixtures on commercial
parcels, and inventories not exempt by law.
(ii) All outdoor advertising signs and billboards.
(iii) Well drilling rigs and other equipment attached to a
transporting vehicle but not designed for operation while the
vehicle is moving on the highway.
(iv) Unlicensed commercial vehicles or commercial vehicles
licensed as special mobile equipment or by temporary permits.
(c) Industrial personal property includes the following:
(i) All machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and
dies on industrial parcels, and inventories not exempt by law.
(ii) Personal property of mining companies valued by the state
geologist.
(d) For taxes levied before January 1, 2003, residential
personal property includes a home, cottage, or cabin on leased
land, and a mobile home that would be assessable as real property
under section 2a except that the land on which it is located is not
assessable because the land is exempt.
(e) Utility personal property includes the following:
(i) Electric transmission and distribution systems, substation
equipment, spare parts, gas distribution systems, and water
transmission and distribution systems.
(ii) Oil wells and allied equipment such as tanks, gathering
lines, field pump units, and buildings.
(iii) Inventories not exempt by law.
(iv) Gas wells with allied equipment and gathering lines.
(v) Oil or gas field equipment stored in the open or in
warehouses such as drilling rigs, motors, pipes, and parts.
(vi) Gas storage equipment.
(vii) Transmission lines of gas or oil transporting companies.
(4) For taxes levied before January 1, 2003, buildings on
leased land of any classification are improvements where the owner
of the improvement is not the owner of the land or fee, the value
of the land is not assessed to the owner of the building, and the
improvement has been assessed as personal property pursuant to
section 14(6).
(5) If the total usage of a parcel includes more than 1
classification, the assessor shall determine the classification
that most significantly influences the total valuation of the
parcel.
(6) An owner of any assessable property who disputes the
classification of that parcel shall notify the assessor and may
protest the assigned classification to the March board of review.
An owner or assessor may appeal the decision of the March board of
review by filing a petition with the state tax commission not later
than June 30 in that tax year. The state tax commission shall
arbitrate the petition based on the written petition and the
written recommendations of the assessor and the state tax
commission staff. An appeal may not be taken from the decision of
the state tax commission regarding classification complaint
petitions and the state tax commission's determination is final and
binding for the year of the petition.
(7) The department of treasury may appeal the classification
of any assessable property to the residential and small claims
division of the Michigan tax tribunal not later than December 31 in
the tax year for which the classification is appealed.
(8) This section shall not be construed to encourage the
assessment of property at other than the uniform percentage of true
cash value prescribed by this act.
(9) The assessor of each city or township in which is located
property that is subject to payment in lieu of taxes under subpart
14 of part 21 of the natural resources and environmental protection
act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.2152 to 324.2154, shall place that
property on an assessment roll that is separate from the assessment
roll prepared under section 24. For purposes of calculating the
debt limitation imposed by section 11 of article VII of the state
constitution of 1963, the separate assessment roll for property
that is subject to payment in lieu of taxes under subpart 14 of
part 21 of the natural resources and environmental protection act,
1994 PA 451, MCL 324.2152 to 324.2154, required by this subsection
shall be combined with the assessment roll prepared under section
24.
