Gov. Rick Snyder signs bills to help Michigan residents secure property from federal government

Lansing, Mich. – May 6, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Nearly 900 acres of land in Calhoun County will be conveyed by the federal government to the state of Michigan so that the state can certify it to the rightful landowners, under legislation signed today by Gov. Rick Snyder.

“Residents of Michigan have settled this land and paid taxes on it, and now it will be rightfully theirs,” Snyder said. “The federal government was a great partner in sorting this out, and now the land will continue to be put to good use by Michiganders.”

Senate Bills 18 and 19, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Nofs, replace legislation vetoed by the governor last term due to a procedural defect in the bill that would have prevented it from taking effect. The bill was tie-barred to another that was not taken up in the state House.

The Nofs bills will convey parcels of land in Calhoun County from the federal government to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR will then work to identify the property owners who have been paying taxes on the land to formally convey it to them. The bills are now Public Acts 18 and 19 of 2015.

For more information on this and other legislation, visit legislature.michigan.gov.