Bill Text: MI SB0185 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Drains: maintenance and improvement; frequency of maintenance; limit based on period since most recent maintenance assessment. Amends secs. 196 & 201 of 1956 PA 40 (MCL 280.196 & 280.201).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-07 - Referred To Committee On Local Government [SB0185 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2019-SB0185-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 185

 

 

March 7, 2019, Introduced by Senator STAMAS and referred to the Committee on Local Government.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1956 PA 40, entitled

 

"The drain code of 1956,"

 

by amending sections 196 and 201 (MCL 280.196 and 280.201), section

 

196 as amended by 2008 PA 509 and section 201 as added by 2016 PA

 

171.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 196. (1) An annual inspection may be made of A drain

 

commissioner or drainage board may inspect a drain established

 

under this act. Inspection shall also be made A drain commissioner

 

or drainage board shall inspect a drain upon the request of the

 

governing body of a public corporation, as defined in section 461,

 

served in whole or in part by the drain to be inspected. For county

 

drains, the inspection shall be made by the drain commissioner, or

a competent person appointed by the drain commissioner. For

 

intercounty drains, the inspection shall be caused to be made by

 

the drainage board.

 

     (2) Surplus construction funds remaining after completion of

 

construction of a drain, or funds remaining after completion of

 

work performed under a petition for maintenance or improvements

 

under this chapter, shall be deposited in the drain fund of a

 

drainage district and shall be expended for inspection, repair, and

 

maintenance of the drain.

 

     (3) If at any time the drain fund of a drainage district

 

contains less than $5,000.00 per mile or fraction of a mile of a

 

drain, the drain commissioner or drainage board may assess the

 

drainage district for an amount not to exceed $2,500.00 per mile or

 

fraction of a mile in any 1 year. The amount collected under an

 

assessment shall be deposited in the drain fund of a drainage

 

district for necessary inspection, repair, and maintenance of the

 

drain.

 

     (4) If an inspection discloses the necessity of expending

 

money for the maintenance and repair of a drain in order to keep it

 

in working order, the drain commissioner for a county drain, or the

 

drainage board for an intercounty drain, may without petition

 

expend an amount not to exceed in any 1 year $5,000.00 per mile or

 

fraction of a mile for maintenance and repair of a drain, exclusive

 

of inspection and engineering fees and the cost of publication and

 

mailing. The determination of the maximum expenditure allowed

 

without a petition or resolution shall be based on the total number

 

of miles of the drain and not on the actual number of miles or

location of the maintenance or repair.

 

     (5) If the drain commissioner or the drainage board finds it

 

necessary to expend funds in excess of the amount established in

 

subsection (4) per mile or fraction of a mile in any 1 year for the

 

maintenance and repair of a drain, the additional amounts shall not

 

be expended until approved by resolution of the governing body of

 

each township, city, and village affected by more than 20% of the

 

cost.

 

     (6) If the drain fund of a drainage district does not contain

 

sufficient funds to pay for inspection, repair, and maintenance

 

authorized by this section, the drain commissioner or the drainage

 

board shall reassess the drainage district for the inspection,

 

repair, and maintenance according to benefits received. A

 

reassessment shall be made and spread upon the city or township tax

 

assessment roll within 2 years after the completion of the

 

inspection, repair, and maintenance. If the total expenditure is

 

more than the amount established in subsection (4) per mile or

 

fraction of a mile, all real property owners subject to an

 

assessment within the drainage district shall be notified of the

 

assessment by publication in a newspaper of general circulation

 

within the drainage district and by first-class mail to the name

 

and address that appears on the last city or township assessment

 

roll. An affidavit of mailing shall be made by the drain

 

commissioner. The affidavit is conclusive proof that the notices

 

required by this subsection were mailed. The failure to receive the

 

notices by mail shall does not constitute a jurisdictional defect

 

invalidating a drain tax if notice by publication was given as

required by this subsection.

 

     (7) An assessment under subsection (6) for the actual cost of

 

inspection, repair, and maintenance performed on a drain, or an

 

assessment under subsection (3) to be deposited in the drain fund

 

of a drainage district, shall be made according to benefits

 

received. The expenditure limit of the amount established in

 

subsection (4) per mile of drain or fraction of a mile shall be

 

used to calculate the maximum amount that the drain commissioner or

 

drainage board may assess in any 1 year without a petition or a

 

request from a public corporation. The property in a drainage

 

district that benefits from the inspection, repair, or maintenance

 

of the drain is subject to assessment for that inspection, repair,

 

or maintenance. Determination of the maximum assessment amount

 

allowed without petition or request, or of the property that is

 

subject to assessment, shall be based on the number of miles of

 

drain and areas of the drainage district receiving benefits and not

 

on the actual number of miles or actual location of the inspection,

 

repair, or maintenance.

 

     (8) If Subject to subsection (9), the drain commissioner or

 

drainage board shall not perform drain maintenance under this

 

section if an assessment is necessary for the maintenance and 10%

 

or more of the freeholders who would be liable for an assessment or

 

an installment of an assessment for that maintenance would

 

concurrently be liable for an assessment or an installment for

 

previous maintenance work on the drain under this section.

 

     (9) If, as determined by the county board of commissioners for

 

a county drain, or the director of the department of agriculture

and rural development, for an intercounty drain, an emergency

 

condition exists that endangers the public health , or crops , or

 

other property within a drainage district, subsection (8) does not

 

apply and the drain commissioner or the drainage board,

 

respectively, may expend funds for maintenance and repair to

 

alleviate the emergency condition.

 

     (10) (9) Nothing in this This section prohibits does not

 

prohibit the drain commissioner or the drainage board from spending

 

funds in excess of the amount established in subsection (4) per

 

mile or fraction of a mile in any 1 year for inspection,

 

maintenance, and repair of a drain when requested by a public

 

corporation, if the public corporation pays the entire cost of the

 

inspection, maintenance, and repair.

 

     (11) (10) In computing the amounts that may be expended in

 

accordance with under this section, the cost of work to be

 

performed by a federal agency or public corporation that is not

 

chargeable to the county or intercounty drainage district shall not

 

be included, nor shall it be necessary for and the drain

 

commissioner or the drainage board is not required to advertise for

 

bids for that portion of the work to be done by the federal agency

 

or public corporation.

 

     (12) (11) For purposes of this section, the costs of

 

maintenance or repair shall include the costs of maintaining the

 

drain in working order to continue a normal flow of water,

 

including the servicing or repair of necessary pumping equipment

 

and utility charges for pumping equipment; the cost of keeping the

 

drain free from rubbish, debris, siltation, or obstructions; the

cost of repairing a portion or all of a tile or drain to continue

 

the normal flow of water; and other costs associated with the costs

 

enumerated in this subsection.

 

     (13) (12) If the cost of maintenance and repair of a drain

 

includes utility charges or costs to service pumping stations,

 

sewage treatment facilities, or retention basins, the limitation on

 

assessments under subsection (7) for maintenance and repair does

 

not apply except that the drain commissioner or drainage board may

 

levy sufficient special assessments to pay the charges or costs but

 

not more than the amount sufficient to pay those charges or costs.

 

     (14) (13) Except as otherwise provided in this act, that

 

portion of the salaries, expenses, and fringe benefits of

 

administrative and engineering employees under the supervision of

 

the drain commissioner that are directly attributable, but not

 

incidental, to a drain or otherwise not recovered by fees

 

established by resolution or ordinance of the board of

 

commissioners may be chargeable to the drain fund of a drainage

 

district.

 

     Sec. 201. (1) At least 7 days before entering property for any

 

excavation or tree removal to be performed under this chapter, the

 

drain commissioner or drainage board shall mail notice of the

 

expected entry by first-class mail to the property owner.

 

     (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to work performed under

 

section 196(8) 196(9) or 196a.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.