Act No. 22

Public Acts of 2006

Approved by the Governor

February 14, 2006

Filed with the Secretary of State

February 14, 2006

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 14, 2006

STATE OF MICHIGAN

93RD LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2006

Introduced by Senator Gilbert

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 579

AN ACT to amend 1974 PA 198, entitled "An act to provide for the establishment of plant rehabilitation districts and industrial development districts in local governmental units; to provide for the exemption from certain taxes; to levy and collect a specific tax upon the owners of certain facilities; to impose and provide for the disposition of an administrative fee; to provide for the disposition of the tax; to provide for the obtaining and transferring of an exemption certificate and to prescribe the contents of those certificates; to prescribe the powers and duties of the state tax commission and certain officers of local governmental units; and to provide penalties," by amending section 9 (MCL207.559), as amended by 2005 PA 251.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 9. (1) The legislative body of the local governmental unit, in its resolution approving an application, shall set forth a finding and determination that the granting of the industrial facilities exemption certificate, considered together with the aggregate amount of industrial facilities exemption certificates previously granted and currently in force, shall not have the effect of substantially impeding the operation of the local governmental unit or impairing the financial soundness of a taxing unit that levies an ad valorem property tax in the local governmental unit in which the facility is located or to be located. If the state equalized valuation of property proposed to be exempt pursuant to an application under consideration, considered together with the aggregate state equalized valuation of property exempt under certificates previously granted and currently in force, exceeds 5% of the state equalized valuation of the local governmental unit, the commission, with the approval of the state treasurer, shall make a separate finding and shall include a statement in the order approving the industrial facilities exemption certificate that exceeding that amount shall not have the effect of substantially impeding the operation of the local governmental unit or impairing the financial soundness of an affected taxing unit.

(2) Except for an application for a speculative building, which is governed by subsection (4), the legislative body of the local governmental unit shall not approve an application and the commission shall not grant an industrial facilities exemption certificate unless the applicant complies with all of the following requirements:

(a) The commencement of the restoration, replacement, or construction of the facility occurred not earlier than 12months before the filing of the application for the industrial facilities exemption certificate. If the application is not filed within the 12-month period, the application may be filed within the succeeding 12-month period and the industrial facilities exemption certificate shall in this case expire 1 year earlier than it would have expired if the application had been timely filed. This subdivision does not apply for applications filed with the local governmental unit after December31, 1983.

(b) For applications made after December 31, 1983, the proposed facility shall be located within a plant rehabilitation district or industrial development district that was duly established in a local governmental unit eligible under this act to establish a district and that was established upon a request filed or by the local governmental unit's own initiative taken before the commencement of the restoration, replacement, or construction of the facility.

(c) For applications made after December 31, 1983, the commencement of the restoration, replacement, or construction of the facility occurred not earlier than 6 months before the filing of the application for the industrial facilities exemption certificate.

(d) The application relates to a construction, restoration, or replacement program that when completed constitutes a new or replacement facility within the meaning of this act and that shall be situated within a plant rehabilitation district or industrial development district duly established in a local governmental unit eligible under this act to establish the district.

(e) Completion of the facility is calculated to, and will at the time of issuance of the certificate have the reasonable likelihood to create employment, retain employment, prevent a loss of employment, or produce energy in the community in which the facility is situated.

(f) Completion of the facility does not constitute merely the addition of machinery and equipment for the purpose of increasing productive capacity but rather is primarily for the purpose and will primarily have the effect of restoration, replacement, or updating the technology of obsolete industrial property. An increase in productive capacity, even though significant, is not an impediment to the issuance of an industrial facilities exemption certificate if other criteria in this section and act are met. This subdivision does not apply to a new facility.

(g) The provisions of subdivision (c) do not apply to a new facility located in an existing industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in April of 1992 if the application was approved by the local governing body and was denied by the state tax commission in April of 1993.

(h) The provisions of subdivisions (b) and (c) and section 4(3) do not apply to 1 or more of the following:

(i) A facility located in an industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in October 1995 for construction that was commenced in July 1992 in a district that was established by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in July 1994. An industrial facilities exemption certificate described in this subparagraph shall expire as provided in section 16(3).

(ii) A facility located in an industrial development district that was established in January 1994 and was owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in February 1994 if the personal property and real property portions of the application were approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit and the personal property portion of the application was approved by the state tax commission in December 1994 and the real property portion of the application was denied by the state tax commission in December 1994. An industrial facilities exemption certificate described in this subparagraph shall expire as provided in section 16(3).

(iii) A facility located in an industrial development district that was established in December 1995 and was owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemptions certificate in November or December 1995 for construction that was commenced in September 1995.

(iv) A facility located in an industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in July 2001 for construction that was commenced in February 2001 in a district that was established by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in September 2001. An industrial facilities exemption certificate described in this subparagraph shall expire as provided in section 16. The facility described in this subparagraph shall be taxed under this act as if it was granted an industrial facilities exemption certificate in October 2001, and a corrected tax bill shall be issued by the local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or by the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax roll. If granting the industrial facilities exemption certificate under this subparagraph results in an overpayment of the tax, a rebate, including any interest and penalties paid, shall be made to the taxpayer by the local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or by the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax roll within 30 days of the date the exemption is granted. The rebate shall be without interest.

(i) The provisions of subdivision (c) do not apply to any of the following:

(i) A new facility located in an existing industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in October 1993 if the application was approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit and the real property portion of the application was denied by the state tax commission in December 1993.

(ii) A new facility located in an existing industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in September 1993 if the personal property portion of the application was approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit and the real property portion of the application was denied by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in October 1993 and subsequently approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in September 1994.

(iii) A facility located in an existing industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in August 1993 if the application was approved by the local governmental unit in September 1993 and the application was denied by the state tax commission in December 1993.

(iv) A facility located in an existing industrial development district occupied by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in June of 1995 if the application was approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in October of 1995 for construction that was commenced in November or December of 1994.

(v) A facility located in an existing industrial development district owned by a person who filed an application for an industrial facilities exemption certificate in June of 1995 if the application was approved by the legislative body of the local governmental unit in July of 1995 and the personal property portion of the application was approved by the state tax commission in November of 1995.

(j) If the facility is locating in a plant rehabilitation district or an industrial development district from another location in this state, the owner of the facility is not delinquent in any of the taxes described in section 10(1)(a) of the Michigan renaissance zone act, 1996 PA 376, MCL 125.2690, or substantially delinquent in any of the taxes described in and as provided under section 10(1)(b) of the Michigan renaissance zone act, 1996 PA 376, MCL 125.2690.

(3) If the replacement facility when completed will not be located on the same premises or contiguous premises as the obsolete industrial property, then the applicant shall make provision for the obsolete industrial property by demolition, sale, or transfer to another person with the effect that the obsolete industrial property shall within a reasonable time again be subject to assessment and taxation under the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL211.1 to 211.157, or be used in a manner consistent with the general purposes of this act, subject to approval of the commission.

(4) The legislative body of the local governmental unit shall not approve an application and the commission shall not grant an industrial facilities exemption certificate that applies to a speculative building unless the speculative building is or is to be located in a plant rehabilitation district or industrial development district duly established by a local governmental unit eligible under this act to establish a district; the speculative building was constructed less than 9years before the filing of the application for the industrial facilities exemption certificate; the speculative building has not been occupied since completion of construction; and the speculative building otherwise qualifies under subsection (2)(e) for an industrial facilities exemption certificate. An industrial facilities exemption certificate granted under this subsection shall expire as provided in section 16(3).

(5) Not later than September 1, 1989, the commission shall provide to all local assessing units the name, address, and telephone number of the person on the commission staff responsible for providing procedural information concerning this act. After October 1, 1989, a local unit of government shall notify each prospective applicant of this information in writing.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if on December 29, 1986 a local governmental unit passed a resolution approving an exemption certificate for 10 years for real and personal property but the commission did not receive the application until 1992 and the application was not made complete until 1995, then the commission shall issue, for that property, an industrial facilities exemption certificate that begins December 30, 1987 and ends December 30, 1997. The facility described in this subsection shall be taxed under this act as if it was granted an industrial facilities exemption certificate on December 30, 1987.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if a local governmental unit passed a resolution approving an industrial facilities exemption certificate for a new facility on July 8, 1991 but rescinded that resolution and passed a resolution approving an industrial facilities exemption certificate for that same facility as a replacement facility on October 21, 1996, the commission shall issue for that property an industrial facilities exemption certificate that begins December 30, 1991 and ends December 2003. The replacement facility described in this subsection shall be taxed under this act as if it was granted an industrial facilities exemption certificate on December 30, 1991.

(8) Property owned or operated by a casino is not industrial property or otherwise eligible for an abatement or reduction of ad valorem property taxes under this act. As used in this subsection, "casino" means a casino or a parking lot, hotel, motel, convention and trade center, or retail store owned or operated by a casino, an affiliate, or an affiliated company, regulated by this state pursuant to the Michigan gaming control and revenue act, the Initiated Law of 1996, MCL 432.201 to 432.226.

(9) Notwithstanding section 16a and any other provision of this act, if a local governmental unit passed a resolution approving an industrial facilities exemption certificate for a new facility on October 28, 1996 for a certificate that expired in December 2003 and the local governmental unit passes a resolution approving the extension of the certificate after December 2003 and before March 1, 2006, the commission shall issue for that property an industrial facilities exemption certificate that begins on December 30, 2005 and ends December 30, 2010 as long as the property continues to qualify under this act.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless House Bill No. 5559 of the 93rd Legislature is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor