A non-partisan plan, spearheaded by State Rep. John Roth, to allow certain summer resorts to re-classify themselves as domestic non-profits passed the House today in overwhelming bipartisan fashion.

“Legal technicalities should never impose unnecessary and unintended burdens on private organizations,” said Roth, R-Interlochen. “As things currently stand, summer resorts must abide by archaic rules that limit representation on boards and disallow virtual meetings or proxy voting.”

House Bills 4312, sponsored by Roth, and 4313, sponsored by State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City), allow summer resort associations who organized under the 1897 Summer Resorts and Parks Associations Act to convert to domestic non-profits should they meet all necessary requirements. There would be no requirement that resorts must re-classify.

“Summer resort associations are facing unexpected hurdles as they grapple with remaining compliant with an 1897 law,” Roth said. “Our plan allows them to come out of the dark ages and re-classify as domestic non-profits, if they meet the requirements. This would lift many of the burdens imposed by the original act.”

Summer resort associations expressed concern that the 1897 act does not adequately address modern circumstances facing associations and their members today. The Michigan Department of Labor and Regulatory Affairs disallowed resort associations from converting to non-profits because the 1897 act did not explicitly specify their ability to do so. Roth and Coffia’s plan allow resort associations to make the shift if they choose.

The plan now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

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