SB-0248, As Passed Senate, June 22, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBSTITUTE FOR

 

SENATE BILL NO. 248

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

by amending sections 503 and 2132 (MCL 324.503 and 324.2132),

 

section 503 as amended by 2004 PA 587 and section 2132 as amended

 

by 1998 PA 117.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 503. (1) The department shall protect and conserve the

 

natural resources of this state; provide and develop facilities for

 

outdoor recreation; prevent the destruction of timber and other

 

forest growth by fire or otherwise; promote the reforesting of

 

forestlands belonging to the state; prevent and guard against the

 

pollution of lakes and streams within the state and enforce all

 

laws provided for that purpose with all authority granted by law;

 

and foster and encourage the protecting and propagation of game and

 


fish.

 

     (2) The department has the power and jurisdiction over the

 

management, control, and disposition of all land under the public

 

domain, except for those lands under the public domain that are

 

managed by other state agencies to carry out their assigned duties

 

and responsibilities. On behalf of the people of the this state,

 

the department may accept gifts and grants of land and other

 

property and may buy, sell, exchange, or condemn land and other

 

property, for any of the purposes contemplated by of this part.

 

Before acquiring surface rights to land, the department shall

 

estimate payments in lieu of taxes on the land, and the change of

 

property tax revenue likely to be experienced by local units of

 

government as a result of the acquisition and shall post this

 

information on its website for at least 21 days.

 

     (3) The department may accept funds, money, or grants for

 

development of salmon and steelhead trout fishing in this state

 

from the government of the United States, or any of its departments

 

or agencies, pursuant to the anadromous fish conservation act, 16

 

USC 757a to 757f, and may use this money in accordance with the

 

terms and provisions of that act. However, the acceptance and use

 

of federal funds does not commit state funds and does not place an

 

obligation upon the legislature to continue the purposes for which

 

the funds are made available.

 

     (4) The department shall not acquire surface rights to land if

 

the department owns, or as a result of the acquisition will own,

 

the surface rights to more than 4,650,000 acres of land.

 

     (5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the number of acres of

 


Senate Bill No. 248 as amended June 22, 2011

 

land in which the department owns surface rights does not include

 

any of the following:

 

     (a) Land in which the department has a conservation easement.

 

     (b) Land platted under the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL

 

560.101 to 560.293, <<or a predecessor act>> before the effective

date of the amendatory act

 

that added this subsection if acquired by the department before the

 

effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection.

 

     (c) Any of the following if acquired on or after the effective

 

date of the amendatory act that added this subsection:

 

     (i) Land with an area of not more than 80 acres, or a right-of-

 

way, for accessing other land owned by the department.

 

     (ii) A trail. The land excluded under this subparagraph is

 

limited as follows:

 

     (A) If the traveled portion of the trail is located within an

 

abandoned railroad right-of-way, the land excluded is limited to

 

the abandoned railroad right-of-way.

 

     (B) If the traveled portion of the trail is located in a

 

utility easement, the land excluded is limited to the utility

 

easement.

 

     (C) If sub-subparagraphs (A) and (B) do not apply, the land

 

excluded is limited to the traveled portion of the trail and

 

contiguous land. The area of the contiguous land shall not exceed

 

the product of 100 feet multiplied by the length of the trail in

 

feet.

 

     (iii) Land that, on the effective date of the amendatory act

 

that added this subsection, was commercial forestland as defined in

 

section 51101.

 


     (iv) Land acquired by the department by gift.

 

     (v) Land acquired by the department through litigation.

 

     (6) The department shall maintain a record of land as

 

described in subsection (5). The record shall include the location,

 

acreage, date of acquisition, and use of the land.

 

     (7) The department shall post and maintain on its website all

 

of the following information:

 

     (a) The number of acres of land, including land as described

 

in subsection (5), in which the department owns surface rights, in

 

total, and by program.

 

     (b) The number of acres of land, excluding land as described

 

in subsection (5), in which the department owns surface rights, in

 

total, and by program.

 

     (8) (2) The department may lease lands owned or controlled by

 

the department or may grant concessions on lands owned or

 

controlled by the department to any person for any purpose that the

 

department determines to be necessary to implement this part. In

 

granting a concession, the department shall provide that each

 

concession is awarded at least every 7 years based on extension,

 

renegotiation, or competitive bidding. However, if the department

 

determines that a concession requires a capital investment in which

 

reasonable financing or amortization necessitates a longer term,

 

the department may grant a concession for up to a 15-year term. A

 

concession granted under this subsection shall require, unless the

 

department authorizes otherwise, that all buildings and equipment

 

shall be removed at the end of the concession's term. Any lease

 

entered into under this subsection shall limit the purposes for

 


which the leased land is to be used and shall authorize the

 

department to terminate the lease upon a finding that the land is

 

being used for purposes other than those permitted in the lease.

 

Unless otherwise provided by law, money received from a lease or a

 

concession of tax reverted land shall be credited to the fund

 

providing financial support for the management of the leased land.

 

Money received from a lease of all other land shall be credited to

 

the fund from which the land was purchased. However, money received

 

from program-related leases on these lands shall be credited to the

 

fund providing financial support for the management of the leased

 

lands. For land managed by the forest management division of the

 

department, that fund is either the forest development fund

 

established pursuant to part 505 section 50507 or the forest

 

recreation account of the Michigan conservation and recreation

 

legacy fund provided for in section 2005. For land managed by the

 

wildlife or fisheries division of the department, that fund is the

 

game and fish protection account of the Michigan conservation and

 

recreation legacy fund provided for in section 2010.

 

     (9) (3) When the department sells land, the deed by which the

 

land is conveyed may reserve all mineral, coal, oil, and gas rights

 

to the state only when the land is in production or is leased or

 

permitted for production, or when the department determines that

 

the land has unusual or sensitive environmental features or that it

 

is in the best interest of this state to reserve those rights as

 

determined by commission policy. However, the department shall not

 

reserve the rights to sand, gravel, clay, or other nonmetallic

 

minerals. When the department sells land that contains subsurface

 


rights, the department shall include a deed restriction that

 

restricts the subsurface rights from being severed from the surface

 

rights in the future. If the landowner severs the subsurface rights

 

from the surface rights, the subsurface rights revert to this

 

state. The deed may reserve to the state the right of ingress and

 

egress over and across land along watercourses and streams.

 

Whenever an exchange of land is made, either with the United States

 

government, a corporation, or an individual, for the purpose of

 

consolidating the state forest reserves, the department may issue

 

deeds without reserving to the state the mineral, coal, oil, and

 

gas rights and the rights of ingress and egress. The department may

 

sell the limestone, sand, gravel, or other nonmetallic minerals.

 

However, the department shall not sell a mineral or nonmetallic

 

mineral right if the sale would violate part 353, part 637, or any

 

other provision of law. The department may sell all reserved

 

mineral, coal, oil, and gas rights to such lands upon terms and

 

conditions as the department considers proper and may sell oil and

 

gas rights as provided in part 610. The owner of such lands as

 

shown by the records shall be given priority in case the department

 

authorizes any sale of such lands, and, unless the landowner waives

 

such rights, the department shall not sell such rights to any other

 

person. For the purpose of this section, mineral rights do not

 

include rights to sand, gravel, clay, or other nonmetallic

 

minerals.

 

     (10) (4) The department may enter into contracts for the sale

 

of the economic share of royalty interests it holds in hydrocarbons

 

produced from devonian or antrim shale qualifying for the

 


nonconventional fuel credit contained in section 29 of the internal

 

revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 29. However, in entering into these

 

contracts, the department shall assure that revenues to the natural

 

resources trust fund under these contracts are not less than the

 

revenues the natural resources trust fund would have received if

 

the contracts were not entered into. The sale of the economic share

 

of royalty interests under this subsection may occur under

 

contractual terms and conditions considered appropriate by the

 

department and as approved by the state administrative board. Funds

 

received from the sale of the economic share of royalty interests

 

under this subsection shall be transmitted to the state treasurer

 

for deposit in the state treasury as follows:

 

     (a) Net proceeds allocable to the nonconventional fuel credit

 

contained in section 29 of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26

 

USC 29, under this subsection shall be credited to the

 

environmental protection fund created in section 503a.

 

     (b) Proceeds related to the production of oil or gas from

 

devonian or antrim shale shall be credited to the natural resources

 

trust fund or other applicable fund as provided by law.

 

     (11) (5) As used in subsection (4) (10):

 

     (a) "Natural resources trust fund" means the Michigan natural

 

resources trust fund established in section 35 of article IX of the

 

state constitution of 1963 and provided for in section 1902.

 

     (b) "Net proceeds" means the total receipts received from the

 

sale of royalty interests under subsection (4) (10) less costs

 

related to the sale. Costs may include, but are not limited to,

 

legal, financial advisory, geological or reserve studies, and

 


Senate Bill No. 248 as amended June 22, 2011

 

accounting services.

 

     (12) (6) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Concession" means an agreement between the department and

 

a person under terms and conditions as specified by the department

 

to provide services or recreational opportunities for public use.

 

     (b) "Lease" means a conveyance by the department to a person

 

of a portion of the state's interest in land under specific terms

 

and for valuable consideration, thereby granting to the lessee the

 

possession of that portion conveyed during the period stipulated.

 

     Sec. 2132. (1) The department may sell surplus land at a price

 

of not less than its fair market value as determined by an

 

appraisal <<OR OTHER METHOD OF VALUATION>>. However, if the department

offers tax reverted land for

 

sale and the land is not sold within 9 months, the department shall

 

offer the land for sale at a public auction and sell the property

 

to the qualified bidder making the highest bid that represents a

 

reasonable price for the property as determined by the department,

 

notwithstanding the fair market value of the property.

 

     (2) The sale of surplus land shall be conducted by the

 

department through 1 of the following methods:

 

     (a) A sealed or oral bid public auction sale.

 

     (b) A negotiated sale.

 

     (3) The Subject to subsection (1), the sale of surplus land

 

through a sealed or oral bid public auction sale shall be to the

 

highest bidder. A bid shall not be accepted for less than the fair

 

market value of the surplus land as determined by an appraisal.

 

     (4) A notice of the sale of surplus land shall be given as

 

provided in section 2133.

 


     (5) The proceeds from the sale of surplus land shall be

 

deposited into the fund.

 

     (6) Surplus land that is sold under this subpart shall be

 

conveyed by quitclaim deed approved by the attorney general.