HOUSE BILL No. 5612

April 28, 2016, Introduced by Rep. Farrington and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.

 

     A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled

 

"The general property tax act,"

 

by amending section 43 (MCL 211.43), as amended by 1994 PA 253.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 43. (1) The supervisor of each township, immediately upon

 

authorization to raise money by taxation pursuant to an election

 

held under section 36 or on or before the November 5 in each year,

 

shall notify the township treasurer of the amount of the state,

 

county, school, and public transportation authority taxes as

 

apportioned to his or her township.

 

     (2) The treasurer, immediately upon authorization to raise

 

money by taxation pursuant to an election held under section 36 or

 

on or before the third day immediately preceding the day the taxes

 

to be collected become a lien, shall give to the county treasurer a

 

bond running to the county in the actual amount of state, county,


and school taxes, except school taxes collected through a city

 

treasurer, with sufficient sureties to be approved by the

 

supervisor of the township and the county treasurer, conditioned

 

that he or she will pay over to the county treasurer as required by

 

law all state and county taxes, pay over to the respective school

 

treasurers all school taxes that he or she collects during each

 

year of his or her term of office, and duly and faithfully perform

 

all the other duties of the office of treasurer. If a corporate

 

surety bond is provided, the bond shall be approved only by the

 

county treasurer. If the bond is furnished by a surety company

 

authorized to transact business under the laws of this state, it is

 

sufficient that the bond is equal to 40% of the amount of state,

 

county, and school taxes. If the bond is furnished by a surety

 

company, the premium and cost of the bond given to the county shall

 

be paid by the county treasurer from the general fund of the county

 

against which the premium and cost is made a charge. However, the

 

county treasurer having paid the premium may bill each district

 

school board afforded protection by the bond that portion of the

 

premium charge as is allocated to the school taxes and the school

 

district treasurers shall pay that allocated premium charge as

 

determined by the county treasurer for the protection of school

 

taxes from available school district funds. If the county treasurer

 

and township supervisor determine that the bond of the township

 

treasurer recorded with the township clerk and on file with the

 

township supervisor is adequate and sufficient to safeguard the

 

proper accounting of state, county, and school taxes as required by

 

law, the township treasurer shall not be required to file with the


county treasurer the bond provided for in this section. The county

 

treasurer shall deliver to the supervisor on or before the day the

 

taxes to be collected become a lien a signed statement of approval

 

of the bond. Upon the receipt of the signed statement and on or

 

before the day the taxes to be collected become a lien, the

 

supervisor shall deliver to the township treasurer the tax roll of

 

this the township. The county treasurer shall file and safely keep

 

the bond in his or her office and shall give to the township

 

treasurer a receipt stating that the required bond was received,

 

which receipt the township treasurer shall deliver to the

 

supervisor on or before the day the taxes to be collected become a

 

lien. After the delivery of the receipt and on or before the day

 

the taxes to be collected become a lien, the supervisor shall

 

deliver to the township treasurer the tax roll of the township.

 

     (3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5), tax

 

collections shall be delivered pursuant to the following schedule:

 

     (a) Within 10 business days after the first and fifteenth day

 

of each month, the township or city treasurer shall account for and

 

deliver to the county treasurer the total amount of state and

 

county tax collections on hand on the first and fifteenth day of

 

each month; to the school district treasurers the total amount of

 

school tax collections on hand on the first and fifteenth day of

 

each month; and to the public transportation authorities the total

 

amount of public transportation authority tax collections on hand

 

the first and fifteenth day of each month. If the intermediate

 

school district and community college district provide for direct

 

payment pursuant to subsection (9), the township or city treasurer


shall also account for and deliver to the intermediate school

 

district and the community college district the total respective

 

amounts of school tax collections on hand the first and fifteenth

 

day of each month. This subdivision shall not apply to the month of

 

March.

 

     (b) Within 10 business days after the last day of February,

 

the township or city treasurer shall account for and deliver to the

 

county treasurer at least 90% of the total amount of state and

 

county tax collections on hand on the last day of February; to the

 

school district treasurers at least 90% of the total amount of

 

school tax collections on hand on the last day of February; and to

 

the public transportation authorities at least 90% of the total

 

amount of public transportation authority tax collections on hand

 

on the last day of February. If the intermediate school district

 

and community college district provide for direct payment pursuant

 

to subsection (9), the township or city treasurer shall also

 

account for and deliver to the intermediate school district and

 

community college district at least 90% of the total respective

 

amounts of school tax collections on hand on the last day of

 

February.

 

     (c) A final adjustment and delivery of the total amount of tax

 

collections on hand for the county, community college districts,

 

intermediate school districts, school districts, and public

 

transportation authorities shall be made not later than April 1 of

 

each year.

 

     (4) Instead of following the schedule prescribed in subsection

 

(3), the township or city serving as the tax collecting unit and


the local governmental unit for which the tax collections are made

 

may enter into an agreement to establish an alternative schedule

 

for delivering tax collections.

 

     (5) A township that has a state equalized valuation of

 

$15,000,000.00 or less shall account for and deliver to the county

 

treasurer, the school district treasurers, and the public

 

transportation authorities and, if the intermediate school district

 

and community college district provide for direct payment pursuant

 

to subsection (9), the intermediate school district treasurers and

 

community college treasurers the taxes collected up to and

 

including January 10, within 10 business days after January 10.

 

However, a township treasurer subject to this subsection shall at

 

no time have on hand collections of state, county, community

 

college, intermediate school district if applicable pursuant to

 

subsection (9), school district, and public transportation

 

authority taxes in excess of 25% of the amount of the taxes

 

apportioned to the township and, when if collections on hand reach

 

this that percentage, the township treasurer shall immediately

 

account for and turn over the total amount of state and county tax

 

collections on hand to the county treasurer, the total respective

 

amounts of school tax collections on hand to the respective

 

treasurers, and the total respective amounts of public

 

transportation authority tax collections on hand to the respective

 

public transportation authorities. The township treasurer shall

 

notify the secretary or superintendent of each community college

 

district, intermediate school district, and school district

 

applicable and each of the applicable public transportation


authorities of the total amount of taxes paid to the respective

 

treasurer or authority, which notification shall show the different

 

funds for which the taxes were collected.

 

     (6) Except as may be provided under section 1613 of Act No.

 

451 of the Public Acts of 1976, being section 380.1613 of the

 

Michigan Compiled Laws, the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL

 

380.1613, when a county treasurer is collecting the school district

 

or intermediate school district levy, the county treasurer shall

 

account for and deliver to the appropriate local governmental unit

 

treasurer the tax collections received by the county treasurer

 

within 10 business days after the county treasurer receives the

 

funds.

 

     (7) The A county treasurer shall account for and deposit in

 

the county library fund for the use of the county library board,

 

county tax collections received pursuant to a tax levied under

 

section 1 of Act No. 138 of the Public Acts of 1917, being section

 

397.301 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, 1917 PA 138, MCL 397.301,

 

within 10 business days after the county treasurer receives the

 

funds.

 

     (8) The A county treasurer shall account for and deliver to

 

the boards of each metropolitan transportation authority the county

 

tax collections for transportation authority purposes received by

 

the county treasurer within 10 business days after the county

 

treasurer receives the funds.

 

     (9) For taxes that become a lien in December 1984 or after

 

1984, an intermediate school district board or the board of

 

trustees of a community college may provide that a local tax


collecting treasurer shall account for and deliver tax collections

 

directly to the respective intermediate school district or

 

community college treasurer pursuant to the schedule contained in

 

subsections (3), (4), and (5) for delivery of the respective taxes

 

to the county treasurer. A resolution shall be adopted at least 60

 

days before the day taxes to be collected become a lien and shall

 

specify the period for which the resolution is effective. Copies of

 

the resolution shall be transmitted to each local tax collecting

 

treasurer and county treasurer within the intermediate school

 

district or community college district.

 

     (10) By the fifteenth day of each month, the a county

 

treasurer shall account for and deliver to the state the

 

collections under the state education tax act, Act No. 331 of the

 

Public Acts of 1993, being sections 211.901 to 211.906 of the

 

Michigan Compiled Laws, 1993 PA 331, MCL 211.901 to 211.906, on

 

hand on the last day of the preceding month. By the first day of

 

each month, the a county treasurer shall account for and deliver to

 

the state the collections under the state education tax act, Act

 

No. 331 of the Public Acts of 1993, 1993 PA 331, MCL 211.901 to

 

211.906, on hand on or before the fifteenth day of the immediately

 

preceding month. The A county treasurer may retain the interest

 

earned on the money collected under Act No. 331 of the Public Acts

 

of 1993 the state education tax act, 1993 PA 331, MCL 211.901 to

 

211.906, while held by the county treasurer, as reimbursement for

 

the cost incurred by the county in collecting and transmitting the

 

tax imposed by that act. The money retained by the a county

 

treasurer under this section shall be deposited in the treasury of


the county in which the tax is collected to the credit of the

 

general fund.

 

     (11) A treasurer who willfully neglects or refuses to perform

 

a duty required by subsections (3) to (8) is subject to the penalty

 

prescribed in section 119(1).

 

     (12) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (10), interest

 

earned by a city, township, or county on collections of taxes

 

levied on or after November 5, 1985 before the tax collections are

 

accounted for and delivered to the respective taxing units pursuant

 

to this section shall also be accounted for and delivered to the

 

respective taxing units on a pro rata basis. Interest earned by a

 

city, township, or county on collections of taxes levied before

 

November 5, 1985 before those collections were accounted for and

 

delivered to the respective taxing units in compliance with the

 

requirements of this section is not subject to claim and

 

retroactive collection by those taxing units. However, interest

 

earned on collections of taxes levied on or after November 5, 1985

 

and before December 1, 1987 are not subject to claim and

 

retroactive collection unless a claim has been filed in a court of

 

competent jurisdiction before March 1, 1988. This subsection does

 

not apply to interest or penalties imposed by law or charter and

 

does not nullify or prohibit any agreements made between a

 

collecting unit and a taxing unit regarding the earned interest.

 

     (13) If there is an agreement for an alternative schedule for

 

delivering tax collections or for interest earned under subsections

 

(4) and (12), the collection of the state education tax is subject

 

to those provisions of that agreement.


     (14) Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the

 

contrary, the collection and return of taxes levied by the board of

 

trustees of a community college district is subject to the

 

limitation set forth in section 144(6) of the community college act

 

of 1966, 1966 PA 331, MCL 389.144.

 

     (15) (14) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Metropolitan transportation authority" means an authority

 

created under the metropolitan transportation authorities act of

 

1967, Act No. 204 of the Public Acts of 1967, being sections

 

124.401 to 124.425 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.1967 PA 204, MCL

 

124.401 to 124.426.

 

     (b) "Public transportation authority" means an authority

 

created under Act No. 55 of the Public Acts of 1963, being sections

 

124.351 to 124.359 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.1963 PA 55, MCL

 

124.351 to 124.359.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 98th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. 98.

 

     (b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5611 (request no.

 

05793'16).