FY 2016-17 MNRTF APPROPRIATION                                              S.B. 76 (S-1, Draft 2):

                                                                                   SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senate Bill 76 (S-1, Draft 2)

Sponsor:  Senator Darwin L. Booher

Committee:  Appropriations

 

Date Completed:  3-22-17

 


CONTENT

 

Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.  On December 7, 2016, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) Board adopted FY 2016-17 recommendations for acquisition and development projects pursuant to Article IX, Section 35 of the Michigan Constitution and the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.  The recommendations include a $47.6 million appropriation from the MNRTF for 27 acquisition projects ($27.7 million) and 87 development projects ($19.9 million).

 

Senate Bill 76 (S-1 Draft 2) includes additional appropriations of $7.7 million from the MNRTF to fund 43 development projects (3 State, 40 local) that were applied for, but not recommended for funding by the MNRTF Board.  With these additional appropriations, the total appropriation from the MNRTF in Senate Bill 76 (S-1 Draft 2) is $55.3 million. An appropriation bill is necessary to authorize the spending recommended by the MNRTF Board.  The attached information provides details on projects recommended, including a description of the project, location, and cost.

 

The MNRTF was capitalized through deposits of bonuses, rentals, delayed rentals, and royalties collected or reserved by the State under provisions of leases for the extraction of nonrenewable resources from State-owned land, except such revenue accruing under leases of State-owned land acquired with money from the State or Federal Game and Fish Protection Fund.  Pursuant to the Michigan Constitution, annual expenditures consisted of MNRTF interest and earnings, and 33% of MNRTF revenue received by the State during the previous fiscal year, until the corpus of the MNRTF reached $500.0 million.  The MNRTF reached $500.0 million in 2011, thereby limiting subsequent annual expenditures to interest and investment earnings, and funding carried forward from previous years.  

 

The Michigan Constitution provides that not less than 25% of the total amounts made available for expenditure from the Trust Fund from any State fiscal year must be spent for acquisition of land and rights in land and not more than 25% of the total amounts made available for expenditure from the Trust Fund from any state fiscal year must be spent for development of public recreation facilities.

 

Boilerplate

 

Sec. 301.  Provides criteria for agreements with local units of government for administration of MNRTF grants.

 

Sec. 302.  Provides for work project status of grants.  Requires funds to be carried forward consistent with Section 248 of the Management and Budget Act.

 

Sec. 303.  Identifies withdrawn projects so that those funds may lapse.

 

Sec. 304.  Makes $111.0 million from the MNRTF available for expenditure, subject to appropriation.

 


 

FISCAL IMPACT

 

The bill would appropriate $55,308,200 from the MNRTF for 27 acquisition projects and 87 development projects.  Matching funds of at least $42,061,000 for local projects result in total project costs of at least $89,671,900. Matching funds for projects included in the bill that were not recommended by the MNRTF Board are not yet available. The listed figures are a minimum, given that development projects require at least a 25% match.  Projects with a larger match are typically scored higher by the DNR.

 

FY 2015-16 Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF)

Projects

Number of Projects

Trust Fund

Match

Total Cost

Acquisition Projects

 

 

 

 

State owned

6

$7,770,000

$0

$7,770,000

Local Government

21

19,900,800

7,843,100

27,743,900

Subtotal Acquisition Projects

27

$27,670,800

$7,843,100

$35,513,900

 

 

 

 

 

Development Projects

 

 

 

 

State owned

11

$2,636,300

$5,242,1001

$7,228,4001

Local Government

119

25,001,100

27,051,5001

45,005,3001

Subtotal Development Projects

130

$27,637,400

$32,293,6001

$52,233,7001

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

157

$55,308,200

$40,136,7001

$87,747,6001

1Matching fund figures for projects included in the bill that were not recommended by the MNRTF Board are not available, therefore the listed Match and Total Cost figures do not include those amounts and are lower than the actual number.

 

                                                                                        Fiscal Analyst:  Josh Sefton

 

 

 

 

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.