1.    The legislative assembly finds that it is in the interest of the general public, particularly those persons who may bring claims regarding materials containing asbestos in public    buildings and those against whom the claims may be brought, to set a specific date by which public building owners must bring a cause of action for removal or other abatement costs associated with the presence of asbestos in their buildings. By enactment of this statute of limitations, the legislative assembly does not imply that suits would otherwise be barred by an existing limitations period.

2.    Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any action to recover costs for removal and replacement of asbestos or materials containing asbestos from a public building; to recover costs for other measures taken to locate, correct, or ameliorate any problem related to asbestos in a public building; or for reimbursement for removal and replacement, correction, or amelioration of an asbestos problem in a public building, must be commenced prior to August 1, 1997. Any such action which would otherwise be barred before August 1, 1997, as a result of expiration of the applicable period of limitation, is revived or extended. An asbestos action revived or extended under this subsection must be commenced prior to August 1, 1997.

3.    For purposes of this section, “public building” means any building owned by any county, city, township, school district, park district, or any other unit of local government, the state or any agency, industry, institution, board, or department thereof.