House committee hears bill to let drain commissioners assess DNR-managed lands

Representative Aaron Schutte, sponsor of House Bill 4118, told the House Committee on Government Operations that the bill would allow county drain commissioners to apply drain assessments to land managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources the same way assessments are applied to private property and other state-managed land such as that under the Department of Transportation.

The bill would remove an existing exemption for DNR-managed land from drain assessments, Schutte said in committee testimony. "This legislation allows county drain commissioners to apply drain assessments to DNR managed property the same way they do to private property or other state properties such as that managed by the Department of Transportation," Representative Schutte said.

Why it matters: Drain maintenance and construction are funded by special assessments on properties within a drainage district. Witnesses representing the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners (MACDC)…