Economic development: other; land bank fast track act; amend to reflect elimination of the Michigan strategic fund. Amends secs. 3, 16 & 23 of 2003 PA 258 (MCL 124.753 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0631'25
Senate Bill 654 amends Michigan’s Land Bank Fast Track Act to update references and procedures tied to the state’s economic development structure, especially the planned elimination of the Michigan Strategic Fund and replacement of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s role with a new bureau of fair competition and free enterprise. The bill revises statutory definitions in section 3, including the meaning of “Michigan economic development corporation,” “Michigan strategic fund,” and “qualified city,” and it expands the qualified-city definition to include certain townships with populations of 50,000 or more. It also updates the definition of tax reverted property to clarify the kinds of tax-foreclosed or government-held properties that may be handled by land bank authorities.
The bill also revises the governance of the state land bank authority in section 16. It keeps the seven-member board structure, but substitutes the director of the new bureau, or a designee, for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation chief executive officer or designee. The bill retains the governor’s appointment power for four board members and preserves the participation of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. It continues to require board members and officers to act in good faith and allows reliance on counsel, appraisers, and financial statements.
In section 23, the bill updates how land bank authorities may enter intergovernmental agreements. It allows the state authority to work with the new bureau instead of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation once the related economic development reform act takes effect, and it transfers existing agreement rights and duties to the bureau. It also preserves and clarifies authority for counties, cities, qualified cities, townships, and villages to transfer tax reverted property to land banks, and it maintains provisions allowing local authorities to receive property, collect taxes, enforce liens, and receive funding or reimbursements from local governments and other public bodies. The bill also continues to allow qualified cities to create local authorities with broad operational independence, unless approval is specifically reserved.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and context is administrative and technical rather than controversial: the measure appears designed to conform the land bank statute to a broader economic development reorganization. There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so public support or opposition cannot be directly measured from the record here. The tie-bar to Senate Bill 631 indicates the bill is part of a package and is intended to take effect only if the companion legislation is enacted.
The main point of potential contention is structural rather than policy-based: the bill shifts responsibilities away from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Michigan Strategic Fund to a new bureau, which may raise questions about continuity, oversight, and how land bank-related economic development functions will be administered. Another possible issue is the expansion of local authority eligibility to certain townships and the broad autonomy given to local authorities, though the bill itself does not present these as disputed changes.
This bill amends the Land Bank Fast Track Act, changing statutory references to reflect the elimination of the Michigan Strategic Fund and the transfer of related duties to the bureau of fair competition and free enterprise. It affects the composition of the state land bank authority board, the entities with which land banks may enter intergovernmental agreements, and the categories of local governments eligible to create local authorities. It also clarifies the handling and transfer of tax reverted property and preserves land bank powers over property acquisition, title clearance, redevelopment, tax collection, and lien enforcement.
The bill appears to be generally neutral-to-supportive in tone, functioning as a technical cleanup and conforming amendment to align the land bank statute with a broader economic development reorganization. Because no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, there is no direct evidence of opposition or debate in the available record. The context suggests the measure is part of a larger legislative package and is intended to operate in tandem with Senate Bill 631.
The most notable point of contention is the replacement of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Michigan Strategic Fund with a new bureau, which changes who administers economic development-related land bank functions and may affect institutional roles and oversight. A secondary issue is the bill’s expansion of qualified-city status to certain townships and the broad authority granted to local land bank authorities to act without local governing-body approval unless specifically reserved. These changes could matter to local governments, county treasurers, and state economic development stakeholders.