Skip to content

Senate Committee Passes Amendments Aimed at Easing PA 116 Burdens

June 20, 2016

In March 2016, the Michigan House unanimously passed House Bills 5189, 5190 and 5191, and the bills were subsequently passed by the Michigan Senate Agriculture Committee. The legislation is aimed at altering procedures for processing farmers’ applications and tax credit payments under the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program (PA 116) of Michigan. The bill package now awaits a full Senate vote.

The legislation was spurred by the Department of Treasury’s failure to issue many 2014 tax credit payments to farmers. Thus, one component of the proposed legislation imposes interest on late refunds from the Department of Treasury.

Among other procedural changes, property splits and transfers would no longer be subject to a $25 filing fee under the legislation. Instead, upon creation or expiration of a contract, farmers may file with their county’s Register of Deeds office, giving them more control over the processing timeline. According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, this change could reduce the total time it takes to change a PA 116 contract by 45 days.

Sign up to be the first to access our leading legal insights.

The link you have selected will redirect you to a third-party website located on another server. We are offering the link for your convenience. Varnum has no responsibility for any external websites and makes no express or implied warranties about any external websites.

Please be aware that contacting us via e-mail does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm. Do not send confidential information to the firm until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and receive authorization to send such materials.