March 15, 2012, Introduced by Rep. Gilbert and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
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 a private golf
course located within 5 miles of a municipal golf course,
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. 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.