Bill Text: MI SB1062 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Engrossed

---

Bill Title: Property tax; exemptions; definition of qualified agricultural property; revise. Amends sec. 7dd of 1893 PA 206 (MCL 211.7dd). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4302'11, HB 4969'11, HB 4970'11, SB 1057'12, SB 1058'12, SB 1059'12, SB 1061'12

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-12-04 - Referred To Second Reading [SB1062 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-SB1062-Engrossed.html

---

SB-1062, As Passed Senate, September 20, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBSTITUTE FOR

 

SENATE BILL NO. 1062

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled

 

"The general property tax act,"

 

by amending section 7dd (MCL 211.7dd), as amended by 2011 PA 320.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 7dd. As used in sections 7cc and 7ee:

 

     (a) "Owner" means any of the following:

 

     (i) A person who owns property or who is purchasing property

 

under a land contract.

 

     (ii) A person who is a partial owner of property.

 

     (iii) A person who owns property as a result of being a

 

beneficiary of a will or trust or as a result of intestate

 

succession.

 

     (iv) A person who owns or is purchasing a dwelling on leased

 

land.

 

     (v) A person holding a life lease in property previously sold

 

or transferred to another.

 

     (vi) A grantor who has placed the property in a revocable trust

 

or a qualified personal residence trust.

 

     (vii) The sole present beneficiary of a trust if the trust

 

purchased or acquired the property as a principal residence for the

 

sole present beneficiary of the trust, and the sole present

 

beneficiary of the trust is totally and permanently disabled. As

 

used in this subparagraph, "totally and permanently disabled" means

 

disability as defined in section 216 of title II of the social

 

security act, 42 USC 416, without regard as to whether the sole

 

present beneficiary of the trust has reached the age of retirement.

 

     (viii) A cooperative housing corporation.

 

     (ix) A facility registered under the living care disclosure

 

act, 1976 PA 440, MCL 554.801 to 554.844.

 

     (b) "Person", for purposes of defining owner as used in

 

section 7cc, means an individual and for purposes of defining owner

 

as used in section 7ee means an individual, partnership,

 

corporation, limited liability company, association, or other legal

 

entity.

 

     (c) "Principal residence" means the 1 place where an owner of

 

the property has his or her true, fixed, and permanent home to

 

which, whenever absent, he or she intends to return and that shall

 

continue as a principal residence until another principal residence

 

is established. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision,

 

principal residence includes only that portion of a dwelling or

 

unit in a multiple-unit dwelling that is subject to ad valorem

 

taxes and that is owned and occupied by an owner of the dwelling or

 

unit. Principal residence also includes all of an owner's

 

unoccupied property classified as residential that is adjoining or

 

contiguous to the dwelling subject to ad valorem taxes and that is

 

owned and occupied by the owner. Beginning December 31, 2007,

 

principal residence also includes all of an owner's unoccupied

 

property classified as timber-cutover real property under section

 

34c that is adjoining or contiguous to the dwelling subject to ad

 

valorem taxes and that is owned and occupied by the owner.

 

Contiguity is not broken by 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. Except as otherwise provided in this

 

subdivision, principal residence also includes any portion of a

 

dwelling or unit of an owner that is rented or leased to another

 

person as a residence as long as that portion of the dwelling or

 

unit that is rented or leased is less than 50% of the total square

 

footage of living space in that dwelling or unit. Principal

 

residence also includes a life care facility registered under the

 

living care disclosure act, 1976 PA 440, MCL 554.801 to 554.844.

 

Principal residence also includes property owned by a cooperative

 

housing corporation and occupied by tenant stockholders. Property

 

that qualified as a principal residence shall continue to qualify

 

as a principal residence for 3 years after all or any portion of

 

the dwelling or unit included in or constituting the principal

 

residence is rented or leased to another person as a residence if

 

all of the following conditions are satisfied:

 

     (i) The owner of the dwelling or unit is absent while on active

 

duty in the armed forces of the United States.

 

     (ii) The dwelling or unit would otherwise qualify as the

 

owner's principal residence.

 

     (iii) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the

 

owner files an affidavit with the assessor of the local tax

 

collecting unit on or before May 1 attesting that it is his or her

 

intent to occupy the dwelling or unit as a principal residence upon

 

completion of active duty in the armed forces of the United States.

 

In 2008 only, the owner may file an affidavit under this

 

subparagraph on or before December 31. A copy of an affidavit filed

 

under this subparagraph shall be forwarded to the department of

 

treasury pursuant to a schedule prescribed by the department of

 

treasury.

 

     (d) "Qualified agricultural property" means unoccupied

 

property and related buildings classified as agricultural, or other

 

unoccupied property and related buildings located on that property

 

devoted primarily to agricultural use as defined in section 36101

 

of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA

 

451, MCL 324.36101. Related buildings include a residence occupied

 

by a person employed in or actively involved in the agricultural

 

use and who has not claimed a principal residence exemption on

 

other property. For taxes levied after December 31, 2008, property

 

shall not lose its status as qualified agricultural property as a

 

result of an owner or lessee of that property implementing a

 

wildlife risk mitigation action plan. Notwithstanding any other

 

provision of this act to the contrary, if after December 31, 2008

 

the classification of property was changed as a result of the

 

implementation of a wildlife risk mitigation action plan, the owner

 

of that property may appeal that change in classification to the

 

board of review under section 30 in the year in which the

 

amendatory act that added this sentence takes effect or in the 3

 

immediately succeeding years. Within 30 days of the effective date

 

of the amendatory act that added the immediately preceding

 

sentence, the department of treasury shall update its publication

 

entitled "Qualified Agricultural Property Exemption Guidelines" and

 

shall post that updated publication on the department of treasury

 

website. Property used for commercial storage, commercial

 

processing, commercial distribution, commercial marketing, or

 

commercial shipping operations or other commercial or industrial

 

purposes is not qualified agricultural property. A parcel of

 

property is devoted primarily to agricultural use only if more than

 

50% of the parcel's acreage is devoted to agricultural use or if

 

more than 50% of the parcel's acreage is devoted to a combination

 

of agricultural use and is exempt under section 7jj[1] as qualified

 

forest property. An owner shall not receive an exemption for that

 

portion of the total state equalized valuation of the property that

 

is used for a commercial or industrial purpose or that is a

 

residence that is not a related building. As used in this

 

subdivision:

 

     (i) "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.

 

     (ii) "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 under the animal

 

industry act, 1988 PA 466, MCL 287.701 to 287.745.287.746.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 96th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. 1057.

 

     (b) Senate Bill No. 1058.

 

     (c) Senate Bill No. 1059.

 

     (d) Senate Bill No. 1061.

 

     (e) House Bill No. 4302.

 

     (f) House Bill No. 4969.

 

     (g) House Bill No. 4970.