* HB 4373 changes the current practice of placing buildings and improvements on leased land on the personal property tax roll and requires that property to be treated as real property. It has been sent to the governor.
The bill became controversial when utility taxpayers argued it would require property previously appraised as personal property to be appraised using real property valuation methodology. Although there is a serious question about the accuracy of this conclusion, the utilities proposed several so-called "clarifying" amendments that would have changed the basic definitions of real and personal property and produced substantial revenuelosses.
State Treasurer Mark Murray worked with MML to develop what actually was a clarifying amendment providing that property will be treated the same way regardless of the ownership of the land on which it is located.
* SB 271 permits public officers and employees to serve on the boards of a brownfield authority also has been sent to the governor. Under the compatibility-of-office law, exceptions are made to the general law prohibiting such service on city boards and commissions.
Current exceptions include tax increment and downtown development authorities. This measure simply adds brownfield authorities to the list. It would also permit members of the board of a DDA to serve on the brownfield authority, which may be required for newly formed authorities under the brownfield legislation passed this summer.
* SB 764 and SB 765 require airport managers to file copies of airport layout and approach plans with local units of government. They have been sent to the governor.
The airport layout plan would be required to be incorporated into a master plan or amendment to a master plan adopted after the effective date of the bills. A zoning ordinance adopted after the bills' effective date must be adopted with consideration for consistency for the airport environment within the community and after comments received at a public hearing.
The bills are intended to establish better coordination and consistency between the various local zoning acts and the Airport Zoning Act, which permits the establishment of airport zoning boards to regulate height and land uses within an airport hazard area under standards approved by the Michigan Aeronautics Commission.
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