2001 House Bill 4720 ↩

House Roll Call 794: Passed

To establish new procedures for annexing and detaching property within the various types of local government. The legislation would require that townships and cities or villages undertake "good faith" negotiations to resolve disputes related to certain annexations of township territory by a city or village. Either party could file a claim in circuit court alleging that the other did not negotiate in good faith, and the court could provide appropriate equitable relief, including, but not limited to, prohibiting the annexation for up to two years, or prohibiting a referendum on the annexation. A township-wide vote could be required with petition signatures of at least 25 percent of the township's electors, even if the land is vacant or contains less than 100 residents. Detachment of territory from a city or village to a township would have to be approved by a majority vote of the qualified electors residing in each of the districts affected by the proposed detachment. This bill is part of a legislative package comprised of House Bills 4720, 4721, 4722, 4723, 4724, and 4725.