Sec. 4.

As used in this act:

(a) "Board" means the board of directors of the Michigan strategic fund, except where the context clearly requires a different definition.

(b) "Economic development project" means an endeavor related to industrial, commercial, or agricultural enterprise. Economic development project includes, but is not limited to, a theme or recreation park; agricultural or forestry production, harvesting, storage, or processing facilities or equipment; port facilities; and the use of equipment or facilities designed to produce energy from renewable resources. Economic development project does not include that portion of an endeavor devoted to the sale of goods at retail, except that, as used in relation to the fund insuring a transaction entered into by a depository institution, and as used in relation to a loan by the fund to a minority owned business, an economic development project may include that portion of an endeavor devoted to the sale of goods at retail. Economic development project does not include that portion of an endeavor devoted to housing or a program or activity authorized under chapter 8A.

(c) "Financial institution" means a state or nationally chartered bank or a state or federally chartered savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union whose deposits are insured by an agency of the United States government and that maintains a principal office or branch office in this state under the laws of this state or the United States.

(d) "Fund" means the Michigan strategic fund created under section 5, except where the context clearly requires a different definition.

(e) "Green chemistry" means chemistry and chemical engineering to design chemical products or processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances, while producing high-quality products through safe and efficient manufacturing processes. Green chemistry is guided by the following 12 principles:

(i) Prevent waste: Design chemical syntheses to prevent waste, leaving no waste to treat or clean up.

(ii) Design safer chemicals and products: Design chemical products to be fully effective, yet have little or no toxicity.

(iii) Design less hazardous chemical syntheses: Design syntheses to use and generate substances with little or no toxicity to humans and the environment.

(iv) Use renewable feedstocks: Use raw materials and feedstocks that are renewable rather than depleting. Renewable feedstocks are often made from agricultural products or are the wastes of other processes; depleting feedstocks are made from fossil fuels, including petroleum, natural gas, or coal, or are mined.

(v) Use catalysts, not stoichiometric reagents: Minimize waste by using catalytic reactions. Catalysts are used in small amounts and can carry out a single reaction many times. They are preferable to stoichiometric reagents, which are used in excess and work only once.

(vi) Avoid chemical derivatives: Avoid using blocking or protecting groups or any temporary modifications if possible. Derivatives use additional reagents and generate waste.

(vii) Maximize atom economy: Design syntheses so that the final product contains the maximum proportion of the starting materials. There should be few, if any, wasted atoms.

(viii) Use safer solvents and reaction conditions: Avoid using solvents, separation agents, or other auxiliary chemicals. If these chemicals are necessary, use innocuous chemicals.

(ix) Increase energy efficiency: Run chemical reactions at ambient temperature and pressure whenever possible.

(x) Design chemicals and products to degrade after use: Design chemical products to break down to innocuous substances after use so that they do not accumulate in the environment.

(xi) Analyze in real-time to prevent pollution: Include in-process real-time monitoring and control during syntheses to minimize or eliminate the formation of by-products.

(xii) Minimize the potential for accidents: Design chemicals and their forms, including solid, liquid, or gas, to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including explosions, fires, and releases to the environment.

(f) "Michigan economic development corporation" or "MEDC" means the Michigan economic development corporation, the public body corporate created under section 28 of article VII of the state constitution of 1963 and the urban cooperation act of 1967, 1967 (Ex Sess) PA 7, MCL 124.501 to 124.512, by a contractual interlocal agreement effective April 5, 1999, and subsequently amended, between local participating economic development corporations formed under the economic development corporations act, 1974 PA 338, MCL 125.1601 to 125.1636, and the fund.

(g) "Municipality" means a county, city, village, township, port district, development organization, institution of higher education, community or junior college, or subdivision or instrumentality of any of the legal entities listed in this subdivision.

(h) "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, profit or nonprofit corporation including a public or private college or university, public utility, municipality, local industrial development corporation, economic development corporation, other association of persons organized for agricultural, commercial, or industrial purposes, a lender, or any other entity approved by the board.

(i) "Port facilities" means seawall jetties; piers; wharves; docks; boat landings; marinas; warehouses; storehouses; elevators; grain bins; cold storage plants; bunkers; oil tanks; ferries; canals; locks; bridges; tunnels; seaways; conveyors; modern appliances for the economical handling, storage, and transportation of freight and handling of passenger traffic; transfer and terminal facilities required for the efficient operation and development of ports and harbors; other harbor improvements; or improvements, enlargements, remodeling, or extensions of any of these buildings or structures. Port facilities do not include an international bridge or international tunnel.

(j) "Project" means an economic development project and, in addition, means the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, conversion, or leasing of an industrial, commercial, retail, agricultural, or forestry enterprise, or any part of these, to carry out the purposes and objectives of this act and of the fund, including, but not limited to, acquisition of land or interest in land, buildings, structures, or other planned or existing planned improvements to land including leasehold improvements, machinery, equipment, or furnishings which include, but are not limited to, the following: research parks; office facilities; engineering facilities; research and development laboratories; warehousing facilities; parts distribution facilities; depots or storage facilities; port facilities; railroad facilities, including trackage, right of way, and appurtenances; airports; bridges and bridge facilities; water and air pollution control equipment or waste disposal facilities; theme or recreational parks; equipment or facilities designed to produce energy from renewable resources; farms, ranches, forests, and other agricultural or forestry commodity producers; agricultural harvesting, storage, transportation, or processing facilities or equipment; grain elevators; shipping heads and livestock pens; livestock; warehouses; wharves and dock facilities; dredging of recreational or commercial harbors; water, electricity, hydro electric, coal, petroleum, or natural gas provision facilities; dams and irrigation facilities; sewage, liquid, and solid waste collection, disposal treatment, and drainage services and facilities. Project does not include a program or activity authorized under chapter 8A.

(k) "Private sector" means other than the fund, a state or federal source, or an agency of a state or the federal government.

History: 1984, Act 270, Eff. Mar. 29, 1985 ;-- Am. 1987, Act 278, Imd. Eff. Jan. 6, 1988 ;-- Am. 2005, Act 225, Imd. Eff. Nov. 21, 2005 ;-- Am. 2010, Act 271, Imd. Eff. Dec. 15, 2010 ;-- Am. 2012, Act 145, Imd. Eff. May 30, 2012 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 507, Imd. Eff. Jan. 14, 2015 Popular Name: Strategic Fund