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HB 5873

AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- MAIL BALLOTS

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Mike Chippendale and 6 co-sponsors

HB 5873 reallocates recreation passport revenue by participation rate, boosting local grants if participation reaches 55%, otherwise increasing funding for state park improvements.

03/18/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 5873

Summary — HB 5873 (Amend MCL 324.2045)

Title: Recreation: state parks; recreation passport fee; modify revenue distribution formula
Introduced: June 27, 2024 (Rep. Denise Mentzer). Passed House (12/12/2024) with immediate effect; referred to committee (as of 1/22/2025: Committee on Government Operations).

Purpose

HB 5873 revises how revenue from the Michigan “recreation passport” (the vehicle‑based state parks admission fee) is distributed among state and local accounts. The bill replaces a purely revenue‑based allocation with a participation‑based formula tied to the share of registered vehicles that pay the recreation passport fee.

It is commonly considered together with HB 5428 (changes to how the recreation passport is collected at vehicle registration), because participation rates may be affected by that change.

Key provisions and changes

  • Maintains static annual dollar allocations first in priority order:
    • Up to $1,000,000 to the Secretary of State for administration of collection.
    • Next $10,700,000 to the State Park Improvement Account.
    • Next $1,030,000 to the Waterways Account.
  • Adds an annual administrative allocation to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) for costs related to free admission programs for certain veterans/service members: up to $1,000,000 per year for the first 3 years after passage, then $500,000 thereafter.
  • After the static allocations, remaining recreation passport revenue will be distributed under one of two percentage formulas based on the prior year’s participation rate (reported by the Dept. of State by August 1):
    • If participation < 55%:
    • 80% to the State Park Improvement Account (to be used for capital, operations, and maintenance).
    • 2.75% for state park cultural/historic resources.
    • 0.25% for promotion (including online reservations and portal promotion).
    • 10% to the Local Public Recreation Facilities Fund (grants for local governments).
    • 7% to the Forest Recreation Account.
    • If participation ≥ 55%:
    • 70% to State Park Improvement Account (capital/operations/maintenance).
    • 2.75% cultural/historic (unchanged).
    • 0.25% promotion (unchanged).
    • 20% to Local Public Recreation Facilities Fund (increase from 10%).
    • 7% to Forest Recreation Account.
  • Defines “participation rate” as the percentage of registered (non‑commercial) motor vehicles for which the recreation passport fee was paid for the registration year.
  • State Treasurer must annually CPI‑adjust certain static dollar amounts (amounts at (b) and (c)).
  • The legislature will appropriate annually from the General Fund an amount equal to a DNR estimate of revenue lost due to specified statutory exemptions; that appropriation is distributed according to the formula.
  • Reporting requirements: DNR must report annually (by Feb 1) to relevant legislative committees on receipts, allocations, uses, adequacy of revenue, and impacts on the state parks endowment fund; and a biennial report on how often vehicles that declined the passport entered parks.

Who is affected

  • Department of Natural Resources (receives and allocates revenue); State Park and Forest operations and capital programs.
  • Department of State (must report participation rates).
  • Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (may receive limited reimbursement).
  • Local governments (potentially larger Local Public Recreation Facilities Fund when participation ≥55%).
  • Motor vehicle owners (indirectly — distribution decisions are triggered by their participation in the passport program).

Fiscal and policy implications

  • The bill does not itself change the passport price; rather it reallocates how revenues are used. Impact depends on participation rates. If participation rises to ≥55% (a condition supporters link to making the passport appear as part of registration), local governments could see increased grant funding (Local Fund share rises from 10% to 20%), while the combined share for state parks (capital/ops/maintenance) would drop from 80% to 70%.
  • Includes modest administrative set‑asides ($1M SOS; up to $1M/$500k DMVA).
  • Historical participation has been below 55% (~40% in recent years), so current practice and allocations would likely remain unchanged until participation increases.

Procedural status / next steps

  • Passed the Michigan House (12/12/2024). Referred to committee in the subsequent legislative process (Committee on Government Operations as of Jan 22, 2025). Further action in committee, the Senate, and final enactment would be required for the provisions to become law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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