Land use: farmland and open space; individual essential to farm; update citation, the official text

Act
No. 71

Public
Acts of 2025

Approved
by the Governor

December
23, 2025

Filed
with the Secretary of State

December
23, 2025

EFFECTIVE
DATE:  December 23, 2025

state of michigan

103rd Legislature

Regular session of 2025

Introduced by Senators Cherry, Singh, Daley, Lauwers and
Shink

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 688

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451,
entitled “An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state;
to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment
and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain
substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters,
and other natural resources of the state; to protect the people’s right to hunt
and fish; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local
agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and
donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and
provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” by amending section
36103 (MCL 324.36103), as amended by 2003 PA 36.

The People of the State of
Michigan enact:

Sec.
36103. (1) The execution and acceptance of a development rights agreement or
easement by this state or the local governing body and the owner dedicates to
the public the development rights in the land for the term specified in the
instrument. A development rights agreement or easement shall be for an initial
term of not less than 10 years. A development rights agreement or easement
entered into after June 5, 1996 shall not be for a term of more than 90 years.

(2) This state or the local governing body shall not sell,
transfer, convey, relinquish, vacate, or otherwise dispose of a development
rights agreement or easement except with the agreement of the owner as provided
in sections 36111, 36111a, 36112, and 36113.

(3) An agreement or easement does not supersede any prior
lien, lease, or interest that is properly recorded with the county register of
deeds.

(4) A lien created under this part in favor of this state or
a local governing body is subordinate to a lien of a mortgage that is recorded
in the office of the register of deeds before the recording of the lien of this
state or a local governing body.

(5) This state shall subordinate its interest in a recorded
agreement under section 36104 or an easement under section 36105 or 36106 to a subsequently
recorded mortgage lien, lease, or interest if both of the following conditions
are met:

(a) The parcel meets the requirements set forth under section
36111(2)(a) for parcels containing existing structures.

(b) The landowner requesting the subordination is an
individual essential to the operation of the farm as that term is defined in
section 36110(6).

Enacting
section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following
bills of the 103rd Legislature are enacted into law:

(a)
Senate Bill No. 690.

(b)
Senate Bill No. 686.

(c)
Senate Bill No. 689.

(d)
Senate Bill No. 687.

(e)
Senate Bill No. 685.

This
act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of
Representatives

Approved___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Governor