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Michigan ag bills move through House ahead of summer recess

Michigan lawmakers in the state House have passed a set of bills to clarify ag exemptions with less than one week remaining before the summer recess.

Majority floor leader Dan Lauwers tells Brownfield one of the bills builds upon changes requested by the Department of Treasury to specify exemptions to agricultural land tile, subsurface irrigation pipe, portable grain bins and grain drying equipment, even when they are a permanently fix part of real estate.  “If the foundation is not movable, you pay taxes on that, but the structure itself that can be disassembled, moved and reassembled—that is exempt from sales and use tax.”

The bills also eliminate sunset language on the Agricultural Disaster Loan Origination Program which was created in 2012 to help fruit growers impacted by catastrophic freeze events.  “I’m not thinking we’re going to need it this year, but it’s much easier to have that structure that in the event that we ever find ourselves in a situation where we need the ability to possibly offer those low or no interest loans for specialty crops.”  The bills now move to the Senate Ag Committee for approval.

He says the House Ag Committee has also approved a measure that gives farmers the ability to move portable toilets, in addition to a service provider, as required in some farm fields under food safety standards.

Lauwers says he also expects legislation regarding vehicles of husbandry and the state’s horse racing industry to move forward yet this year.

AUDIO: Interview with Representative Dan Lauwers