March 12, 2009, Introduced by Senators JELINEK, VAN WOERKOM, GEORGE, BIRKHOLZ and CROPSEY and referred to the Committee on Local, Urban and State Affairs.
A bill to provide for the recovery or replacement of durable
monuments defining the Michigan-Indiana state boundary line; to
create a commission; to provide for certain powers and duties of
certain state officers and agencies; and to repeal acts and parts
of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Michigan and Indiana state line monumentation act".
Sec. 3. (1) The Indiana-Michigan boundary line commission is
established.
(2) The commission consists of 10 members, 5 from the state of
Indiana and 5 from this state, who shall be known as state line
commissioners. The 5 members from the state of Indiana shall be
appointed under the laws of the state of Indiana. The 5 members
from this state are the elected county surveyors of Berrien county,
Cass county, St. Joseph county, Branch county, and Hillsdale
county, who shall serve ex officio.
(3) At the first meeting of the commission, the commission
shall elect from among its members a chairperson and other officers
as it considers necessary or appropriate. After the first meeting,
the commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more frequently at
the call of the chairperson or if requested by 6 or more members.
(4) A majority of the members of the commission constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of the
commission. A quorum of the members present and serving are
required for official action of the commission.
(5) The business that the commission may perform shall be
conducted at a public meeting of the commission held in compliance
with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.
(6) A writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or
retained by the commission in the performance of an official
function is subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442,
MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(7) Members of the commission shall serve without
compensation. However, members of the commission may be reimbursed
for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their official duties as members of the commission.
(8) The commission shall do all of the following:
(a) Administer a survey and remonumentation of the Indiana-
Michigan border.
(b) Recover or reestablish relatively permanent monuments at
the mileposts of the Indiana-Michigan state line as established in
the 1827 federal survey that defined that line. The commission also
shall recover or reestablish relatively permanent monuments at the
posts originally set at or near the shores of lakes and large
rivers of the Indiana-Michigan state line as established in the
1827 federal survey that defined that line, or witness corners for
set posts. The commission shall review the survey upon completion
of each milepost.
(c) Compile appropriate records and documents verifying the
location of the mileposts, and process those records and documents
through the state survey and remonumentation commission created in
section 3 of the state survey and remonumentation act, 1990 PA 345,
MCL 54.263.
(d) Resolve any controversies regarding the location of
mileposts defining the Michigan-Indiana boundary.
Sec. 5. For each milepost or the posts originally set at or
near the shores of lakes or large rivers determined under this act,
a Michigan land recordation certificate that provides appropriate
references, and Michigan south zone state plane coordinates, shall
be filed with the appropriate county register of deeds and a copy
of those documents shall be submitted to the state survey and
remonumentation commission created under section 3 of the state
survey and remonumentation act, 1990 PA 345, MCL 54.263.
Sec. 7. (1) The commission shall procure professional
surveying services through negotiated contracts for purposes of
this act. The commission shall use a qualification-based selection
method for awarding contracts and shall award contracts only to
business entities incorporated or located in this state.
(2) As used in subsection (1), "qualification-based selection"
means a method of selecting professionals or firms to perform
contractual work as follows:
(a) The selection of professionals or firms who provide the
service shall be based first upon the qualifications of the
professionals or firms to perform the required work.
(b) After the qualified design professionals or firms have
been chosen, the commission shall negotiate as to the cost of
services.
(c) If price negotiations cannot be satisfactorily completed
with the highest ranked professional or firm, these negotiations
cease and negotiations begin with the professional or firm that is
next most qualified to perform the required work, and so forth
until a professional or firm is selected to perform the services.
Sec. 9. This act does not take effect unless the director of
the department of energy, labor, and economic growth certifies in
writing to the secretary of the senate and the speaker of the house
of representatives that legislation similar to this act has been
enacted into law by the state of Indiana and that the Indiana
legislation does both of the following:
(a) Enables the interstate cooperation necessary to effectuate
this act.
(b) Provides that the state of Indiana will share the
responsibilities and costs of determining the Michigan-Indiana
border in an equitable manner.
Sec. 11. This act is repealed effective January 1, 2015.