Land use: zoning and growth management; pilot project for a development rights market program; create. Creates land transfer act.

This bill establishes a pilot program in Michigan that allows local townships to create a market for buying and selling development rights to protect agricultural land. Under the program, landowners in areas designated as "sending zones" can sell their rights to build at high density to landowners in "receiving zones," who can then use those rights to increase construction intensity on their own property. The state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will select up to five townships in different counties to test this system, which must be voluntary and based on negotiated prices rather than government condemnation. Townships adopting this program must define specific public benefits, such as preserving open space or managing community growth, and ensure that receiving zones have the necessary infrastructure to support increased development.