Senate Bill 961 (Substitute H-1)
Addendum to SFA analysis (5-24-00)
Sponsor: Sen. Bill Bullard, Jr.
Senate Committee: Transportation and
Tourism
House Committee: Transportation
ADDENDUM TO SENATE FISCAL AGENCY ANALYSIS OF SB 961 DATED 3-6-00:
HOUSE COMMITTEE ACTION:
The House Transportation Committee modified the Senate-passed version of Senate Bill 961 in three ways:
-The committee modified the Senate-passed version of the bill to increase the eight-hour deadline for removing abandoned vehicles to 24 hours. (Currently the law specifies abandoned vehicles must be removed within 48 hours after the date the notice is left on the vehicle.)
-In addition, the committee expanded the description of the study required under the bill. The Senate-passed version of the bill would have required the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) to conduct a study in cooperation with the Department of Transportation and the Department of State Police to evaluate the impact on the change in the deadline for removing abandoned vehicles, and to submit those findings and recommendations to the secretary of state within 12 months. The Transportation Committee substitute retains those provisions, but would require that the findings of the study be submitted to the chairpersons of the Senate and House standing committees that consider transportation and traffic related issues. Further, the House committee specified that the study be based on a) the number of vehicles being towed, b) the value of the vehicles, c) the number of vehicles sold at public sale, and d) the number of owners who requested a hearing and the outcome of that hearing.
-Finally, the House Transportation Committee's version of the bill specifies that the standing committees, SEMCOG, MDOT, and the Department of State Police would review the study's findings and determine whether it would be feasible to reduce the abandoned vehicle deadline from 24 hours to 12 hours.
POSITIONS:
The Department of Transportation supports the bill. (5-23-00)
AAA of Michigan supports the bill. (5-23-00)
The Michigan Trucking Association supports the bill. (5-23-00)
Analyst: J. Hunault