COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION LIABILITY; MODIFY S.B. 39 & 43:
REVISED SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bills 39 and 43 (as introduced 1-26-21)
Sponsor: Senator Roger Victory
Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure
CONTENT
Senate Bill 39 would amend Chapter IV of Public Act 283 of 1909, the county road law, to specify that the liability of a county road commission or a county for failure to comply with the requirements to maintain roadways in its jurisdiction and the procedure and remedies in an action against a county road commission or county would be provided in Public Act 170 of 1964.
Senate Bill 43 would amend Public Act 170 of 1964, the governmental immunity Act, to delete a provision specifying that the liability, procedure, and remedy related to county roads under the jurisdiction of a county road commission would be provided by Public Act 283 of 1909.
The bills are tie-barred, and each bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.
Senate Bill 39
Chapter IV of Public Act 283 of 1909 requires a county to keep roads, bridges, and culverts that are within the county's jurisdiction, under its control, and open to public travel, in reasonable repair, so that they are reasonably safe and convenient for public travel. The Chapter specifies that the provisions of law respecting the liability of townships, cities, villages, and corporations for damages for injuries resulting from a failure in the performance of the same duty respecting roads under their control apply to counties adopting the county road system.
Instead, under the bill, a county road commission, or if there were no county road commission for the county, a county, would have to keep all highways that were within its jurisdiction, under its control, and open to public travel, within reasonable repair, so that they were reasonably safe and convenient for public travel.
Chapter IV specifies that an action arising from the requirement to maintain roadways as described above must be brought against the board of county road commissioners of the county and service must be made to the clerk and upon the chairperson of the board. The Chapter specifies that any judgement obtained against the board must be audited and paid for by the county road fund. However, a board of county road commissioners is not liable for damages to person or property sustained by a person upon a county road because of a defective county road, bridge, or culvert under the jurisdiction of the board of county road commissioners, unless the person serves or causes to be served within 60 days of the injury a notice in writing upon the clerk and upon the chairperson of the board. The notice must set forth the time when and place where the injury occurred, the manner in which it occurred,
the known extent of it, the name of any witnesses, and that the person receiving it intends to hold the county liable for damages. The bill would delete these provisions.
Instead, the bill specifies that the liability of a county road commission or a county for failure to comply with the requirements to maintain roads as described above and the procedure and remedies in an action against the county road commission or county would be provided in Public Act 170 of 1964. (The relevant provisions of Public Act 170 of 1964 are discussed below.)
Senate Bill 43
Under Public Act 170 of 1964, a governmental agency that has jurisdiction over a highway must maintain the highway in reasonable repair so that it is reasonably safe and convenient for public 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 Act specifies that the liability, procedure, and remedy as to county roads under the jurisdiction of a county road commission are provided by Chapter IV of Public Act 283 of 1909. The bill would delete this provision.
MCL 224.21 (S.B. 39) Legislative Analyst: Tyler P. VanHuyse
691.1402 (S.B. 43)
FISCAL IMPACT
The bills would have an indeterminate, and likely positive, fiscal impact on counties and no fiscal impact on the State.
The bills would require potential claimants to sue counties, or county road commissions, in highway negligence cases under the governmental immunity Act. The Act requires that claimants prove the governmental entity responsible for a highway (which, under the Act includes bridges, sidewalks, culvert, etc.) had at least 30 days prior notice of the defect and did not fix it. The bill also would require, as a condition for recovery for injuries, that claimants submit a notice on the governmental entity with jurisdiction over the highway of the injury and the defect that caused it within 120 days after the date it occurred. Under current statute, the required notice period for claimants who sue counties is 60 days.
The bills likely would reduce the potential liability of counties for damages caused by highways in poor condition. The Department of Transportation, for comparison, also is subject to the governmental immunity Act, and highway negligence suits against the State are rarely successful. Over the last decade, typically one to three claims per year result in a judgment or settlement for the injured party.
Fiscal Analyst: Michael Siracuse
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.