AGO 2012 No. 7268.

• Case Date: August 09, 2012
• Court: Michigan

Michigan Attorney General Opinions 2012. AGO 2012 No. 7268. STATE OF MICHIGAN BILL SCHUETTE, ATTORNEY GENERALMICHIGAN NATURALRESOURCE TRUST FUND:DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES:CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:CONST 1963, ART 9, § 35:Expenditures from Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund Const 1963, art 9, § 35, does not permit the expenditure of Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund interest and earnings for payments in lieu of taxes on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources that was not purchased with Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund funds, including property purchased with state or federal game and fish funds. Opinion No. 7268 August 9, 2012Honorable Bruce CaswellState Senator The Capitol Lansing, MI 48909-7536You ask whether the Michigan Constitution allows expenditures of Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund (MNRTF) interest and earnings for payments in lieu of taxes on property under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that was not originally purchased with MNRTF money, such as property purchased with state or federal fish and game funds.(fn1) To answer your question, it is first necessary to examine the text of the constitutional provision establishing the MNRTF. Const 1963, art 9, § 35, states, in part:

There is hereby established the Michigan natural resources trust fund. The trust fund shall consist of all 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 lands, except such revenues accruing under leases of state owned lands acquired with money from state or federal game and fish protection funds or revenues accruing from lands purchased with such revenues. The trust fund may receive appropriations, money, or other things of value. The assets of the trust fund shall be invested as provided by law.

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The interest and earnings of the trust fund shallbe expended for the acquisition of land or rights in land for recreational uses or protection of the land because of its environmental importance or its scenic beauty, for the development of public recreation facilities, and for the administration of the trust fund, which may include payments in lieu of taxes on state owned land purchased through the trust fund. [Emphasis added.]

This provision was added to the Michigan Constitution in 1984 by Proposal B, an initiative to amend the Constitution under Const 1963, art 12, § 1. The section was later amended by Proposal P in 1994, and Proposal 2 in 2002. Proposal B created the MNRTF funded by certain royalties, bonuses, and rentals...