HOUSE BILL NO. 5684

March 17, 2020, Introduced by Reps. Cherry and Filler and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

by amending sections 82105, 82113, 82114, and 82119 (MCL 324.82105, 324.82113, 324.82114, and 324.82119), sections 82105 and 82114 as amended by 2012 PA 28, section 82113 as amended by 1998 PA 297, and section 82119 as amended by 2005 PA 307.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 82105. (1) Before operating If a snowmobile requiring registration is required under section 82103 to be registered in this state, the owner shall apply for registration with the department of state on forms provided by the department of state. If the snowmobile was purchased from a retail dealer in this state, application for initial registration shall be made with the dealer at the point of sale. The dealer shall issue a temporary registration permit in a form received from and approved by the department of state that is valid for 15 days after the date of sale. Each retail dealer shall submit applications for registrations and fees to the department of state not less than once each week. The application shall include a certification. The new owner shall sign the application or, if the application is filed electronically, provide information requested by the department of state to verify the new owner's identity. The application shall also include the new owner's name and bona fide residence address and the names and addresses of holders of any security interest in the snowmobile and its accessories in the order of priority. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of $30.00. Upon receipt of the application in approved form, the department of state shall enter the application upon its records and issue to the applicant a certificate of registration and decal. The certificate of registration shall contain the number awarded to the snowmobile, the name and address of the owner, other information the department of state considers necessary, and, beginning July 1, 2009, the name and address of the holders of secured interests. A person shall not operate a snowmobile that is required to be registered in this state unless the person possesses the certificate of registration in legible form. The person

(2) The operator of a snowmobile shall make the certificate of registration available for inspection upon demand by a peace officer. A person who violates this subsection is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $150.00.

(3) (2) If the secretary of state is not satisfied as to the ownership of a snowmobile that is worth more than $2,500.00, before registering the snowmobile and issuing a certificate of registration, the secretary of state may require the applicant to file a properly executed surety bond in a form prescribed by the secretary of state and executed by the applicant and a company authorized to conduct a surety business in this state. The bond shall be in an amount equal to twice the value of the snowmobile as determined by the secretary of state and shall be conditioned to indemnify or reimburse the secretary of state, any prior owner, and any subsequent purchaser of the snowmobile and their successors in interest against any expense, loss, or damage, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred as a result of the issuance of a certificate of registration for the snowmobile or any defect in the right, title, or interest of the applicant in the snowmobile. An interested person has a right of action to recover on the bond for a breach of the conditions of the bond, but the aggregate liability of the surety to all persons shall not exceed the amount of the bond. The bond shall be returned at the end of 3 years, or before 3 years if when the snowmobile is no longer registered in this state and the current valid certificate of registration is surrendered to the secretary of state, whichever is earlier, unless the secretary of state has received notification of the pendency of an action to recover on the bond. If the secretary of state is not satisfied as to the ownership of a snowmobile that is worth $2,500.00 or less, the secretary of state shall require the applicant to certify that the applicant is the owner of the snowmobile and entitled to register the snowmobile.

(4) (3) The certificate of registration and registration decal authorizes the operation of the snowmobile for a 3-year period that begins on October 1 and expires on September 30 of the third year. The certificate of registration and registration decal may be renewed beginning July 1 of the expiration year by payment of a fee of $30.00. The registration decal shall be displayed as prescribed by rule section 82113 and promulgated by the department of state.

(5) (4) The department of state may destroy a record of a certificate of registration 7 years after expiration of the certificate.

Sec. 82113. (1) The owner of a A snowmobile having owner who has been issued a certificate of registration for the snowmobile shall affix to each side of the forward half of the cowl above the footwell of the snowmobile the registration decal assigned to that snowmobile.

(2) The registration decal shall be as prescribed by the department. Beginning July 1, 1999, the However, the registration decal shall include the registration expiration date and the registration number and shall contain 2 letters and 4 numbers. The numbers shall contrast so as to be distinctly visible and legible.

(3) A number other than the number awarded to the snowmobile on the registration certificate, or granted reciprocity under this part, shall not be attached or otherwise displayed on the snowmobile.

(4) (2) Not earlier than 90 days before the expiration date of a certificate, a registration decal or other device may be issued indicating that the certificate of registration is in full force and effect.

(5) (3) A certificate of registration shall expire pursuant to expires as provided under section 82105.

(6) (4) The department of state may award a certificate of number directly or may authorize a person to act as its agent for the awarding of a certificate of number.

(7) A person who violates subsection (1) or (3) is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $150.00.

Sec. 82114. (1) The owner of a snowmobile shall notify the department of state within 15 days if the snowmobile is destroyed, or abandoned, or is sold, or if an interest in the snowmobile is transferred either wholly or in part to another person, or if the owner's address no longer conforms to the address has changed from that appearing on the certificate of registration. The notice shall consist of a surrender of the certificate of registration on which the proper information shall be is noted on a place to be provided. If the certificate of registration is surrendered because the snowmobile was destroyed or abandoned, the department of state shall cancel the certificate of registration and enter that fact the destruction or abandonment in the records of the department of state, and the number may be then reassigned. The department of state may destroy the record of a surrendered certificate of registration 10 years after its surrender.

(2) If the certificate of registration is surrendered because of the owner's change of address, the department shall record the new address shall be recorded by the department of state and return to the owner a certificate of registration bearing that information the new address. shall be returned to the owner.

(3) The transferee of a snowmobile registered under this part, within 15 days after acquiring the snowmobile, shall apply to the department of state for issuance of a new certificate of registration for the snowmobile. , giving The application shall include the previous registration number of the snowmobile and proof of payment or satisfaction of any security interest shown on the previous owner's certificate of registration or the department of state's records. The application shall include a certification. The new owner shall sign the application or, if the application is filed electronically, provide information requested by the department of state to verify the owner's identity. The application shall also include the new owner's name and bona fide residence address and the names and addresses of the holders of security interests in the snowmobile and its accessories in the order of their priority. The application shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in section 82105. Upon receipt of the application and fee, the department of state shall issue to the new owner a new certificate of registration for the snowmobile. to the new owner. Unless the application is made and the fee paid within 15 days of transfer of ownership, the snowmobile is without certificate of registration, and a person shall not operate the snowmobile until a valid certificate of registration is issued.

(4) If a A person shall not operate a snowmobile if the certificate of registration is lost, mutilated, or illegible. , the owner of the snowmobile shall obtain a duplicate of the certificate of registration upon application and payment of a fee of $5.00.A person who violates this subsection is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $150.00.

(5) If a valid registration decal is lost, mutilated, or illegible, the owner of the snowmobile may obtain a replacement registration decal from the department of state, upon submission of proof of registration and payment of a fee of $5.00.

Sec. 82119. (1) A person shall not operate a snowmobile upon a public highway, land used as an airport or street, or on a public or private parking lot not specifically designated for the use of snowmobiles except under the following conditions and circumstances:

(a) Subject to subsection (2), a snowmobile may be operated on the right-of-way of a public highway, except a limited access highway, if it is operated at the extreme right of the open portion of the right-of-way and with the flow of traffic on the highway. However, a snowmobile may be operated on the right-of-way of a public highway against the flow of traffic if the right-of-way is a snowmobile trail that is designated by the department in the plan developed pursuant to section 82106(2) and that is approved by the state transportation department. Snowmobiles operated on the right-of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall travel single file and shall not be operated abreast except when overtaking and passing or being overtaken and passed by another snowmobile. In the absence of a posted snowmobile speed limit, a snowmobile operated on the right-of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall not exceed the speed limit posted on the public highway. A person who violates this subdivision is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $150.00.

(b) Subject to subsection (2), a snowmobile may be operated on the right-of-way of a limited access public highway if it is operated on a snowmobile trail that is designated by the department in the plan developed pursuant to section 82106(2) and that is approved by the state transportation department. A snowmobile shall only be operated on that right-of-way in the manner provided in that plan. In addition, a snowmobile operated on the right-of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall travel single file and shall not be operated abreast except when overtaking and passing or being overtaken and passed by another snowmobile. In the absence of a posted snowmobile speed limit, a snowmobile operated on the right-of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall not exceed the speed limit posted on the public highway.

(c) A snowmobile may be operated on the roadway or shoulder when necessary to cross a bridge or culvert if the snowmobile is brought to a complete stop before entering onto the roadway or shoulder and the driver yields the right-of-way to an approaching vehicle on the highway.

(d) In a court action, in this state where if competent evidence demonstrates that a vehicle that is permitted to be operated on a highway pursuant to the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923, collided with a snowmobile on a roadway, the driver of the snowmobile involved in the collision shall be considered prima facie negligent.

(e) A snowmobile may be operated across a public highway other than a limited access highway, at a right angles angle to the highway, for the purpose of getting from 1 area to another when if the operation can be done in safety and another vehicle is not crossing the highway at the same time in the same general area. An operator shall bring his or her snowmobile to a complete stop before proceeding across the public highway and shall yield the right-of-way to all oncoming traffic. A person who violates this subdivision is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $150.00.

(f) Snowmobiles may be operated on a highway in a county road system that is not normally snowplowed for vehicular traffic and on the plowed right-of-way or shoulder when no right-of-way exists on a snowplowed highway in the county road system, outside the corporate limits of a city or village, that is designated and marked for snowmobile use by the county road commission having jurisdiction. Upon the request of a county road commission that has designated all county roads outside the corporate limits of a city or village for snowmobile use, the state transportation department shall erect at county road commission expense and shall maintain, in accordance with the Michigan manual of uniform traffic control devices "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" standards, the basic snowmobile sign unit together with a supplemental panel stating "permitted on right-of-way or shoulder of all .......... (county name) roads — MCL 324.82119" at the county line on all state trunk line highways and county roads. A sign erected before the effective date of the 2005 amendatory act that amended this section December 27, 2005 may cite 1968 PA 74 instead of citing this section.

(g) A law enforcement officer of a local unit of government or the this state may authorize use of a snowmobile on a public highway or street within his or her jurisdiction when during an emergency occurs and when conventional motor vehicles cannot be used for transportation due to because of snow or other extreme highway conditions.

(h) A snowmobile may be operated on a highway or street for a special event of limited duration conducted according to a prearranged schedule only under permit from the governmental unit having jurisdiction. The event may be conducted on the frozen surface of public waters only under permit from the department.

(i) A city or village by ordinance may designate 1 or more specific public highways or streets within its jurisdiction as egress and ingress routes for the use of snowmobiles. A city or village acting under the authority of this subdivision shall erect and maintain, in accordance with the Michigan manual of uniform traffic control devices "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" standards, a sign unit giving proper notice of the designation.

(2) The state transportation department and the department of natural resources may permanently prohibit snowmobile use as described in subsection (1)(a) or (b) in a highway right-of-way if, within 10 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, by December 27, 2015, all of the following requirements are met:

(a) The right-of-way is designated in a closure plan developed by the state transportation department and the department of natural resources and approved by the state transportation commission and the commission of natural resources commission.

(b) The state transportation department and the department of natural resources have held a public hearing on the proposed prohibition in the county where the prohibition is to apply. The state transportation department and the department of natural resources shall give notice of the hearing by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not more than 21 or less than 7 days before the hearing.

(c) The state transportation department and the department have consulted on the proposed prohibition with the snowmobile advisory committee created under section 82102a.

(d) Snowmobile use in that right-of-way poses a particular and demonstrable threat to public safety.

(e) The department has designated and, if required under subsection (1)(a) or (b), the state transportation department has approved an alternative snowmobile trail that meets all of the following requirements:

(i) Is open for use and functional during snowmobile season.

(ii) Bypasses the highway right-of-way on which snowmobile use is to be prohibited.

(iii) Provides access to any qualified business that, when the alternative snowmobile trail is designated, is located along the highway right-of-way on which snowmobile use is to be prohibited. As used in this subparagraph, "qualified business" means a gas station, restaurant, hotel, motel, convenience store, or grocery store or any other business that relies on snowmobile-based commerce.

(3) The state transportation department and the department of natural resources may promulgate rules to implement subsections (1)(b) and (2).