Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 6041
     November 07, 2024, Introduced by Rep. Phil Green and referred to the Committee on Economic
       Development and Small Business.
          A bill to amend 1996 PA 381, entitled
    "Brownfield redevelopment financing act,"
    by amending sections 2 and 4 (MCL 125.2652 and 125.2654), section 2
    as amended by 2023 PA 90 and section 4 as amended by 2016 PA 471.
                     THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
       Sec. 2. As used in this act:
       (a) "Authority" means a brownfield redevelopment authority
 created under this act.
       (b) "Baseline environmental assessment" means that term as
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 defined in part 201 or 213.
       (c) "Blighted" means property that meets any of the following
 criteria as determined by the governing body:
       (i) Has been declared a public nuisance in accordance with a
 local housing, building, plumbing, fire, or other related code or
 ordinance.
       (ii) Is an attractive nuisance to children because of physical
 condition, use, or occupancy.
       (iii) Is a fire hazard or is otherwise dangerous to the safety
 of persons or property.
       (iv) Has had the utilities, plumbing, heating, or sewerage
 permanently disconnected, destroyed, removed, or rendered
 ineffective so that the property is unfit for its intended use.
       (v) Is previously developed or tax reverted property owned by
 a municipality or by this state. The sale, lease, or transfer of
 previously developed or tax reverted property by a municipality or
 this state after the property's inclusion in a brownfield plan does
 not result in the loss to the property of the status as blighted
 property for purposes of this act.
       (vi) Is property owned by or under the control of a land bank
 fast track authority, whether or not located within a qualified
 local governmental unit. Property included within a brownfield plan
 before the date it meets the requirements of this subdivision to be
 eligible property is considered to become eligible property as of
 the date the property is determined to have been or becomes
 qualified as, or is combined with, other eligible property. The
 sale, lease, or transfer of the property by a land bank fast track
 authority after the property's inclusion in a brownfield plan does
 not result in the loss to the property of the status as blighted
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 property for purposes of this act.
       (vii) Has substantial buried subsurface demolition debris
 present so that the property is unfit for its intended use.
       (d) "Board" means the board that supervises and controls an
 authority under section 5.
       (e) "Brownfield plan" means a plan that meets the requirements
 of sections 13 and 13b and is adopted under section 14.
       (f) "Captured taxable value" means the amount in 1 year by
 which the current taxable value of an eligible property subject to
 a brownfield plan, including the taxable value or assessed value,
 as appropriate, of the property for which specific taxes are paid
 in lieu of property taxes, exceeds the initial taxable value of
 that eligible property. The state tax commission shall prescribe
 the method for calculating captured taxable value.
       (g) "Chief executive officer" means the mayor of a city, the
 village manager of a village, the township supervisor of a
 township, or the county executive of a county or, if the county
 does not have an elected county executive, the chairperson of the
 county board of commissioners.
       (h) "Combined brownfield plan" means a brownfield plan that
 also includes the information necessary to submit the plan to the
 department, Michigan state housing development authority, or
 Michigan strategic fund under section 15(20).
       (i) "Construction period tax capture revenues" means funds
 equal to the amount of income tax levied and imposed in a calendar
 year on wages paid to individuals physically present and working
 within the eligible property for the construction, renovation, or
 other improvement of eligible property that is an eligible activity
 within a transformational brownfield plan. As used in this
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 subdivision, "wages" means that term as defined in section 3401 of
 the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 3401. To calculate the
 amount of construction period tax capture revenues for a calendar
 year under a transformational brownfield plan, the state treasurer
 shall do all of the following:
       (i) Require the owner or developer of the eligible property to
 report the total taxable wages paid to individuals for the
 construction, renovation, or other improvement of eligible property
 that is an eligible activity within the transformational brownfield
 plan. The wages reported under this subparagraph must exclude any
 wages paid to employees of the owner or developer.
       (ii) Multiply the amount under subparagraph (i) by the effective
 rate as determined by the state treasurer at which the income tax
 is levied on an individual in this state. The state treasurer shall
 estimate the effective rate by taking into account the effect of
 any exemptions, additions, subtractions, and credits allowable
 under part 1 of the income tax act of 1967, 1967 PA 281, MCL 206.1
 to 206.532. The state treasurer may require the owner or developer
 to submit any information necessary for the calculation under this
 subparagraph.
       (iii) The wage information and other information required under
 this subdivision must be provided to the department of treasury by
 the owner or developer in a manner prescribed by the state
 treasurer. The state treasurer may require the owner or developer
 to provide a review or reconciliation of the wages by an
 independent auditing firm.
       (j) "Corrective action" means that term as defined in part 111
 or part 213.
       (k) "Department" means the department of environment, Great
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 Lakes, and energy.
       (l) "Department specific activities" means baseline
 environmental assessments, due care activities, response
 activities, and other environmentally related actions that are
 eligible activities and are identified as a part of a brownfield
 plan that are in addition to the minimum due care activities
 required by part 201, including, but not limited to:
       (i) Response activities that are more protective of the public
 health, safety, and welfare and the environment than required by
 section 20107a, 20114, or 21304c of the natural resources and
 environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.20107a,
 324.20114, and 324.21304c.
       (ii) Removal and closure of underground storage tanks pursuant
 to part 211 or 213.
       (iii) Disposal of solid waste, as defined in part 115 of the
 natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451,
 MCL 324.11501 to 324.11587, from the eligible property, if the
 solid waste was not generated or accumulated by the authority or
 the developer.
       (iv) Dust control related to construction activities.
       (v) Removal and disposal of lake or river sediments exceeding
 part 201 criteria from, at, or related to an economic development
 project if the upland property is either a facility or would become
 a facility as a result of the deposition of dredged spoils.
       (vi) Industrial cleaning.
       (vii) Sheeting and shoring necessary for the removal of
 materials exceeding part 201 criteria at projects requiring a
 permit pursuant to part 301, 303, or 325 of the natural resources
 and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.30101 to
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 324.30113, 324.30301 to 324.30328, and 324.32501 to 324.32515a.
         (viii) Lead, mold, or asbestos abatement when if lead, mold, or
 asbestos pose an imminent and significant threat to human health.
         (ix) Environmental insurance.
         (m) "Due care activities" means those response activities
 identified as part of a brownfield plan that are necessary to allow
 the owner or operator of an eligible property in the plan to comply
 with the requirements of section 20107a or 21304c of the natural
 resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL
 324.20107a and 324.21304c.
         (n) "Economic opportunity zone" means 1 or more parcels of
 property that meet all of the following:
         (i) That together are 40 or more acres in size.
         (ii) That contain or contained a manufacturing operation or an
 enclosed mall that consists or consisted of 300,000 or more square
 feet.
         (iii) That are located in a municipality that is contiguous to a
 qualified local governmental unit.
         (o) "Eligible activities" or "eligible activity" means 1 or
 more of the following:
         (i) For all eligible properties, eligible activities include
 all of the following:
         (A) Department specific activities.
         (B) Relocation of public buildings or operations for economic
 development purposes.
         (C) Reasonable costs of environmental insurance.
         (D) Reasonable costs incurred to develop and prepare
 brownfield plans, combined brownfield plans, or work plans for the
 eligible property, including legal and consulting fees that are not
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 in the ordinary course of acquiring and developing real estate.
       (E) Reasonable costs of brownfield plan and work plan
 implementation, including, but not limited to, tracking and
 reporting of data and plan compliance, including costs to
 implement, monitor, and maintain compliance with the income and
 price monitoring responsibilities associated with housing
 development activities, and the reasonable costs incurred to
 estimate and determine actual costs incurred, whether those costs
 are incurred by a municipality, authority, or private developer.
       (F) Demolition of structures or site improvements that are not
 a response activity, including removal of manufactured debris
 composed of discarded, unused, or unusable manufactured by-products
 left on the site by a previous owner. The removal of the
 manufactured by-products left on the site described in this sub-
 subparagraph is not eligible for interest reimbursement under sub-
 subparagraph (H).
       (G) Lead, asbestos, or mold abatement.
       (H) Except as otherwise provided in sub-subparagraph (F), the
 repayment of principal of and interest on any obligation issued by
 an authority to pay the costs of eligible activities attributable
 to an eligible property.
       (ii) For housing property located in a community that has
 identified a specific housing need and has absorption data or job
 growth data included in the brownfield plan, eligible activities
 include all of the following:
       (A) The activities described in subparagraph (i).
       (B) Housing development activities.
       (C) Infrastructure improvements that are necessary for housing
 property and support housing development activities.
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       (D) Site preparation that is not a response activity and that
 supports housing development activities.
       (iii) For eligible properties located in a qualified local
 governmental unit, or an economic opportunity zone, or that are a
 former mill, eligible activities include all of the following:
       (A) The activities described in subparagraph (i).
       (B) Infrastructure improvements that directly benefit eligible
 property.
       (C) Site preparation that is not a response activity.
       (iv) For eligible properties that are owned by or under the
 control of a land bank fast track authority, or a municipality or
 authority, eligible activities include all of the following:
       (A) The eligible activities described in subparagraphs (i),
 (ii), and (iii).
       (B) Assistance to a land bank fast track authority in clearing
 or quieting title to, or selling or otherwise conveying, property
 owned by or under the control of a land bank fast track authority
 or the acquisition of property by the land bank fast track
 authority if the acquisition of the property is for economic
 development purposes.
       (C) Assistance to a municipality or authority in clearing or
 quieting title to, or selling or otherwise conveying, property
 owned by or under the control of a municipality or authority or the
 acquisition of property by a qualified local governmental unit or
 authority if the acquisition of the property is for economic
 development purposes.
       (v) For eligible activities on eligible property that is
 included in a transformational brownfield plan, any demolition,
 construction, restoration, alteration, renovation, or improvement
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 of buildings or site improvements on eligible property, including
 infrastructure improvements that directly benefit eligible
 property.
       (vi) For eligible activities on eligible property that is a
 qualified facility that is not located in a qualified local
 governmental unit and that is a facility, functionally obsolete, or
 blighted, the following additional activities:
       (A) The activities described in subparagraph (i).
       (B) Infrastructure improvements that directly benefit eligible
 property.
       (C) Site preparation that is not a response activity.
       (p) "Eligible property" means either of the following:
       (i) Except as otherwise provided in sub-subparagraph (G),
 property for which eligible activities are identified under a
 brownfield plan that was used or is currently used for commercial,
 industrial, public, or residential purposes, including personal
 property located on the property, or former dumps, landfills, and
 other areas filled with nonnative material, to the extent included
 in the brownfield plan, and that meets 1 or more of the following
 conditions listed in sub-subparagraphs (A) to (F):
       (A) Is in a qualified local governmental unit and is a
 facility or a site or property as those terms are defined in part
 213, historic resource, functionally obsolete, or blighted and
 includes parcels that are adjacent or contiguous to that property
 if the development of the adjacent and contiguous parcels is
 estimated to increase the captured taxable value of that property.
       (B) Is not in a qualified local governmental unit and is a
 facility, historic resource, functionally obsolete, blighted, or a
 site or property as those terms are defined in part 213, and
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 includes parcels that are adjacent or contiguous to that property
 if the development of the adjacent and contiguous parcels is
 estimated to increase the captured taxable value of that property.
         (C) Is tax reverted property owned by or under the control of
 a land bank fast track authority.
         (D) Is a transit-oriented development or transit-oriented
 property.
         (E) Is located in a qualified local governmental unit and
 contains a targeted redevelopment area.
         (F) Is undeveloped property that was eligible property in a
 previously approved brownfield plan abolished under section 14(8).
         (G) Eligible property does not include qualified agricultural
 property exempt under section 7ee of the general property tax act,
 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7ee, from the tax levied by a local school
 district for school operating purposes to the extent provided under
 section 1211 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211.
         (ii) Housing property for which eligible activities are
 identified under a brownfield plan, including personal property
 located on the property, to the extent included in the brownfield
 plan.
         (q) "Environmental insurance" means liability insurance for
 environmental contamination and cleanup that is not otherwise
 required by state or federal law.
         (r) "Facility" means that term as defined in part 201.
         (s) "Fiscal year" means the fiscal year of the authority.
         (t) "Former mill" means a former mill that has not been used
 for industrial purposes for the immediately preceding 2 years, that
 is not located in a qualified local governmental unit, that is a
 facility or is a site or a property as those terms are defined in
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