Bill Text: MI HB5464 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Torts; governmental immunity; liability for repair and maintenance of highways; modify. Amends sec. 2 of 1964 PA 170 (MCL 691.1402).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-13 - Printed Bill Filed 03/09/2012 [HB5464 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-HB5464-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 5464
March 8, 2012, Introduced by Reps. Farrington, Lyons and Olson and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1964 PA 170, entitled
"An act to make uniform the liability of municipal corporations,
political subdivisions, and the state, its agencies and
departments, officers, employees, and volunteers thereof, and
members of certain boards, councils, and task forces when engaged
in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function, for
injuries to property and persons; to define and limit this
liability; to define and limit the liability of the state when
engaged in a proprietary function; to authorize the purchase of
liability insurance to protect against loss arising out of this
liability; to provide for defending certain claims made against
public officers, employees, and volunteers and for paying damages
sought or awarded against them; to provide for the legal defense of
public officers, employees, and volunteers; to provide for
reimbursement of public officers and employees for certain legal
expenses; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
by amending section 2 (MCL 691.1402), as amended by 1999 PA 205.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. (1) Except as otherwise provided in section 2a, each
governmental agency having jurisdiction over a highway shall
maintain the highway in reasonable repair so that it is reasonably
safe
and convenient for public vehicular
travel. A person who
sustains bodily injury or damage to his or her property by reason
of failure of a governmental agency to keep a highway under its
jurisdiction in reasonable repair and in a condition reasonably
safe and fit for travel may recover the damages suffered by him or
her from the governmental agency. The liability, procedure, and
remedy as to county roads under the jurisdiction of a county road
commission shall be as provided in section 21 of chapter IV of 1909
PA 283, MCL 224.21. The duty of the state and the county road
commissions to repair and maintain highways, and the liability for
that duty, extends only to the improved portion of the highway
designed for vehicular travel and does not include sidewalks,
trailways, crosswalks, or any other installation outside of the
improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel. A
judgment against the state based on a claim arising under this
section from acts or omissions of the state transportation
department is payable only from restricted funds appropriated to
the state transportation department or funds provided by its
insurer.
(2) If the state transportation department contracts with
another governmental agency to perform work on a state trunk line
highway, an action brought under this section for tort liability
arising out of the performance of that work shall be brought only
against the state transportation department under the same
circumstances and to the same extent as if the work had been
performed by employees of the state transportation department. The
state transportation department has the same defenses to the action
as it would have had if the work had been performed by its own
employees. If an action described in this subsection could have
been maintained against the state transportation department, it
shall not be maintained against the governmental agency that
performed the work for the state transportation department. The
governmental agency also has the same defenses that could have been
asserted by the state transportation department had the action been
brought against the state transportation department.
(3) The contractual undertaking of a governmental agency to
maintain a state trunk line highway confers contractual rights only
on the state transportation department and does not confer third
party beneficiary or other contractual rights in any other person
to recover damages to person or property from that governmental
agency. This subsection does not relieve the state transportation
department of liability it may have, under this section, regarding
that highway.
(4) The duty imposed by this section on a governmental agency
is limited by sections 81131 and 82124 of the natural resources and
environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.81131 and
324.82124.
