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BUDGET: Last Week the House passed the
omnibus budget bill (HB 5795) for FY 2006-07. Included in the budget are some major
areas of concern, including: 1) the budget makes funding of the DEQ’s
Land and Water Management Program contingent upon allowing beach grooming
practices to continue; and 2) a floor amendment adopted to the budget strips $1
million from the DEQ’s NPDES program and gives it to the Department of
Agriculture to administer the voluntary MAEAP program. The House budget bill now heads to the Senate
Appropriations Committee, and the Senate budget bills are being taken up in the
House Appropriations Committee this week. Differences between the packages will
be hashed out in conference committee and the Governor will then be able to
line item veto some additional budget issues. Senate Passed: **HB 5453 – A bill to require timber sales on all
timber land evaluated by the department within 18 months of the evaluation. HB 5454 – A bill that would reduce rates paid by
property enrolled in the Commercial Forest Act program. HB 5455 – A bill to modify eligibility criteria under
the Commercial Forest Act. There is problem with the bill related to whether
the public is receiving public access to these properties as require by the law
that grants the tax subsidy. HB 5456 – A bill to define which facilities would be
eligible for new forest products renaissance zones. SB 912 – A bill to provide for tax incentive for
managing private forestland by exempting them from the school mileage –
with the state required to make up the difference. SB 913 - A bill to establish a qualified forest property
recapture tax for properties that received property tax breaks under the
property tax act, but then were converted to other uses. SB 917 - A bill that would authorize a lower tax rate for
properties that provides sustainable forestry conservation easements on their
property. SB 919 – A bill to create 20 new forest products
renaissance zones. SB 499 – A bill to allow for purple paint marks to
designate a no trespassing area. HB 5674 – A bill to authorize On the calendar: SB 337 - A bill to create a tax credit for historical
buildings renovations. The bill however creates them as SBT credits, which
although generated by nonprofit groups would be sold to SBT tax payers. A grant
program to the nonprofits could serve the same purpose directly. In Committee: Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
will meet on Tuesday (5/30) at 3:00 pm to take up bills
including: **HB 4892 – A bill that would exempt county road
commissions from having to mitigate for wetlands destruction within the
right-of-way of a road. HB 5125 – A bill to transfer authority from the
Department of Natural Resources to the Natural Resources Commission to
designate or establish special rules on lakes. SB 1159 – A bill to create a water improvement tax
increment financing authority (TIF) for inland lakes. Technology and Energy will meet on
Wednesday (5/31) at 3:00 pm to take up bills including: HB 5181 – A bill to create a commission to promote the
research and use of ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable fuels. HB 5751 – A bill to provide for a differential motor
fuel tax rate for certain motor fuels. HB 5752 – A bill to allow renaissance zones for
renewable energy facilities. HB 5754 – A bill to provide for economic development
corporations for fueling infrastructure. HB 5755 – A bill to establish standards and codes for
the use of diesel, biodiesel, and hydrogen. House Passed: HB 5795 – The omnibus budget appropriations bill for
FY 2006-07. On the calendar: Energy: Agriculture: SB 1078 – A bill to designate up to 10 additional
renaissance zones for renewable energy facilities. **A floor amendment was
introduced to require that by-products of these facilities not be sold or distributed
to CAFOs. SB 1079 – A bill to extend regulations of certain
fuels. HR 249 – A resolution to express support for the 25 x
25 vision that by 2025, Michigan and American farmers and forests will provide
25% of the total energy consumed in the U.S. HB 5952 – A bill that repeals the requirement that
fuel meet ASTM standards. Tie barred to HB 1074. **SB 538 – A bill to make methane digesters and
similar technologies eligible for small business pollution prevention loans.
The use of methane digester is only viable for large scale confined animal
feeding operations, many of which have been shown to be chronic violators of
environmental laws, or as designed, are expected to become violators during
certain weather conditions. The Michigan Environmental Council opposed the
legislation because we do not believe scarce state resources should be used to
subsidize these types of farms. **HB 5711-5716 – These CAFOs bills have been
re-referred to the House Agriculture Committee. HB 5878 – A bill to require the DEQ to prepare a
compliance booklet for agricultural processors. Public Health: HB 5851 – A bill to delineate conditions under which
civil actions can be brought for damages that include asbestos and silicosis
claims. Transportation: SB 248 – A bill to revise procedures to establish and
issue vehicle fund-raising registration plates. SB 1182 – A bill to increase the limitation on funds
that can be transferred from major street systems to local street systems.
HB 5294-5296 – Establish grace period and limit fines
for zoning ordinance violations for cities and villages, counties, and
townships. HB 5821 – A bill to revise procedures regarding just
compensation and notice to occupants of property. HB 5060 – A bill to prohibit the use of eminent domain
by state or local government to take private property for the primary benefit
of a private entity. SB 693 – A bill to limit the use of eminent domain to
transfer private property to private entities. In Committee: Conservation, Forestry, and Outdoor Recreation will meet
this Tuesday (5/30) at 8:30 am to take up: SB 971 – A bill to require review and
recommendation of the Natural Resources Committee for SB 972 – A bill to prohibit land
within state parks from being designated surplus and being sold. Appropriations will meet
this Wednesday (5/31) at 10:30 am to take up a number of Senate budget bills including:
SB 1080 – The Department of Agriculture FY2006-07
Budget
SB 1094 – The Department of Natural Resources
FY2006-07 Budget SB 1097 – The Department of Transportation FY2006-07 Budget Energy and Technology will meet
this Wednesday (5/31) at 9:00 am to take up a number of bills including: SB 803 – A bill to include alternative energy systems
in the definition of personal property, providing it favorable tax treatment. Submitted by: |