WATERWAYS FUNDING/HARBOR REPORT S.B. 243:
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
Senate Bill 243 (as introduced 3-5-13)
Sponsor: Senator Darwin L. Booher
Committee: Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
CONTENT
The bill would amend Part 781 (Michigan State Waterways Commission) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to do the following:
-- From State fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 through FY 2020-21, require at least half of the money spent from the Waterways Account in any fiscal year to be spent for dredging, the construction of breakwaters at recreational boating facilities, and grants for those purposes.
-- Require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct an annual assessment of the State's public harbors to determine the need for dredging and infrastructure improvements.
-- Require the DNR to prepare a report of the assessment and post it on the Department's website by December 31 each year.
Part 781 allows money in the Waterways Account to be used for, among other things, the construction, operation, and maintenance of certain structures and activities associated with recreational boating facilities, including the following:
-- Piers, jetties, breakwaters, or other similar structures connected to existing or proposed recreational boating facilities or harbors of refuge.
-- Dredging, stump removal, and aquatic weed control that clear lanes to make a water body more accessible primarily for recreational boats as opposed to general navigation.
Waterways Account money also may be used for grants to local units of government and State colleges or universities to acquire and develop harbors of refuge and public boating access sites under Section 78115. (Under that section, the DNR administers a grant program to provide funding for the acquisition of land for the establishment of, or the cost of developing, public boating access sites.)
Under the bill, beginning in FY 2015-16 and continuing through FY 2020-21, at least 50% of the money spent from the Waterways Account in any fiscal year would have to be spent for dredging, the construction of breakwaters, and grants to local units and colleges or universities for either or both of those purposes. A grant recipient could not be required to contribute more than 10% of the amount of the grant as a local match.
MCL 324.78108 & 324.78110 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would require that 50% of the expenditures from the Waterways Account be for dredging or the construction of breakwaters from fiscal year 2015-16 through FY 2020-21. While this requirement would not increase or decrease the amount spent from the Waterways Account, it would reallocate how it may be used. In FY 2012-13, a total of $20.3 million is appropriated from the Account, $14.0 million of which is appropriated for operation and maintenance of State-owned boating facilities. Starting in FY 2015-16, barring any increases in revenue to the Account, the bill would cause funds to be redirected from operation and maintenance of boating facilities to dredging and breakwater construction.
The bill would have a minor, negative fiscal impact on the Department of Natural Resources. Under the bill, the Department would have to conduct an assessment of all public harbors in the State in terms of their dredging needs, and post the assessment on its website. This requirement would introduce some minor costs to the Department that would be borne from existing resources.
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.