Act No. 268

Public Acts of 2000

Approved by the Governor

June 29, 2000

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 5, 2000

EFFECTIVE DATE: See act for multiple effective dates

STATE OF MICHIGAN

90TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2000

Introduced by Reps. Voorhees, Bovin, Julian, Kukuk, Gosselin, Pappageorge, Bradstreet, Shulman, Vander Roest, Toy, Kuipers, Hart and Jansen

Reps. DeHart, DeVuyst, DeWeese, Ehardt, Garcia, Hager, Howell, Kowall, Lemmons, Patterson, Raczkowski, Richardville, Shackleton and Tabor named co-sponsors

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5624

AN ACT to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled "An act to provide for the registration, titling, sale, transfer, and regulation of certain vehicles operated upon the public highways of this state or any other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles and distressed vehicles; to provide for the licensing of dealers; to provide for the examination, licensing, and control of operators and chauffeurs; to provide for the giving of proof of financial responsibility and security by owners and operators of vehicles; to provide for the imposition, levy, and collection of specific taxes on vehicles, and the levy and collection of sales and use taxes, license fees, and permit fees; to provide for the regulation and use of streets and highways; to create certain funds; to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act; to provide for civil liability of owners and operators of vehicles and service of process on residents and nonresidents; to provide for the levy of certain assessments; to provide for the enforcement of this act; to provide for the creation of and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies; to repeal all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act or contrary to this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific date," by amending sections 629e, 674, 675a, 675b, 675c, 675d, and 742 (MCL 257.629e, 257.674, 257.675a, 257.675b, 257.675c, 257.675d, and 257.742), section 629e as amended by 1991 PA 163, section 674 as amended by 2000 PA 76, sections 675a and 675b as amended and section 675c as added by 1980 PA 518, section 675d as amended by 1992 PA 230, and section 742 as amended by 1998 PA 68.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 629e. (1) In addition to any fine or cost ordered to be paid under this act, and in addition to any assessment levied under section 907, the judge, district or municipal court referee, or district or municipal court magistrate shall levy a highway safety assessment of $5.00 and a secondary road patrol and training assessment of $5.00 for each civil infraction determination except for a parking violation or a violation for which the total fine and costs imposed are $10.00 or less. Upon payment of the assessments, the clerk of the court shall transmit the assessments levied to the department of treasury. The state treasurer shall deposit the revenue received pursuant to this subsection in the highway safety fund and in the secondary road patrol and training fund, and shall report annually to the legislature all revenues received and disbursed under this section. An assessment levied under this subsection shall not be considered a civil fine for purposes of section 909.

(2) A highway safety fund and a secondary road patrol and training fund are created in the department of treasury. The funds shall be administered by the department of state police. Money collected under subsection (1) shall be deposited in the respective funds as provided in subsection (1). The money deposited in the highway safety fund shall serve as a supplement to, and not as a replacement for, the funds budgeted for the department of state police. The money in the highway safety fund shall be used by the department of state police for the employment of additional state police enlisted personnel to enforce the traffic laws on the highways and freeways of this state. The money in the secondary road patrol and training fund shall be used for secondary road patrol and traffic accident grants pursuant to section 77 of 1846 RS 14, MCL 51.77, and for grants under section 14 of the commission on law enforcement standards act, 1965 PA 203, MCL 28.614. The department of state police shall report annually to the legislature all revenues received and disbursed under this section.

Sec. 674. (1) A vehicle shall not be parked, except if necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the law or the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:

(a) On a sidewalk.

(b) In front of a public or private driveway.

(c) Within an intersection.

(d) Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.

(e) On a crosswalk.

(f) Within 20 feet of a crosswalk, or if there is not a crosswalk, then within 15 feet of the intersection of property lines at an intersection of highways.

(g) Within 30 feet of the approach to a flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic-control signal located at the side of a highway.

(h) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within 30 feet of a point on the curb immediately opposite the end of a safety zone, unless a different length is indicated by an official sign or marking.

(i) Within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.

(j) Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to a fire station and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to a fire station within 75 feet of the entrance if properly marked by an official sign.

(k) Alongside or opposite a street excavation or obstruction, if the stopping, standing, or parking would obstruct traffic.

(l) On the roadway side of a vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street.

(m) Upon a bridge or other elevated highway structure or within a highway tunnel.

(n) At a place where an official sign prohibits stopping or parking.

(o) Within 500 feet of an accident at which a police officer is in attendance, if the scene of the accident is outside of a city or village.

(p) In front of a theater.

(q) In a place or in a manner that blocks immediate egress from an emergency exit conspicuously marked as an emergency exit of a building.

(r) In a place or in a manner that blocks or hampers the immediate use of an immediate egress from a fire escape conspicuously marked as a fire escape providing an emergency means of egress from a building.

(s) In a parking space clearly identified by an official sign as being reserved for use by disabled persons that is on public property or private property available for public use, unless the individual is a disabled person as described in section 19a or unless the individual is parking the vehicle for the benefit of a disabled person. In order for the vehicle to be parked in the parking space the vehicle shall display 1 of the following:

(i) A certificate of identification or windshield placard issued under section 675 to a disabled person.

(ii) A special registration plate issued under section 803d to a disabled person.

(iii) A similar certificate of identification or windshield placard issued by another state to a disabled person.

(iv) A similar special registration plate issued by another state to a disabled person.

(v) A special registration plate to which a tab for persons with disabilities is attached issued under this act.

(t) In a clearly identified access aisle or access lane immediately adjacent to a space designated for parking by persons with disabilities.

(u) On a street or other area open to the parking of vehicles that results in the vehicle interfering with the use of a curb-cut or ramp by persons with disabilities.

(v) Within 500 feet of a fire at which fire apparatus is in attendance, if the scene of the fire is outside a city or village. However, volunteer fire fighters responding to the fire may park within 500 feet of the fire in a manner not to interfere with fire apparatus at the scene. A vehicle parked legally previous to the fire is exempt from this subdivision.

(w) In violation of an official sign restricting the period of time for or manner of parking.

(x) In a space controlled or regulated by a meter on a public highway or in a publicly owned parking area or structure, if the allowable time for parking indicated on the meter has expired, unless the vehicle properly displays 1 or more of the items listed in section 675(8).

(y) On a street or highway in such a way as to obstruct the delivery of mail to a rural mailbox by a carrier of the United States postal service.

(z) In a place or in a manner that blocks the use of an alley.

(aa) In a place or in a manner that blocks access to a space clearly designated as a fire lane.

(2) A person shall not move a vehicle not owned by the person into a prohibited area or away from a curb a distance that makes the parking unlawful.

(3) A bus, for the purpose of taking on or discharging passengers, may be stopped at a place described in subsection (1)(b), (d), or (f) or on the roadway side of a vehicle illegally parked in a legally designated bus loading zone. A bus, for the purpose of taking on or discharging a passenger, may be stopped at a place described in subsection (1)(n) if the place is posted by an appropriate bus stop sign, except that a bus shall not stop at such a place if the stopping is specifically prohibited by the responsible local authority, the state transportation department, or the director of the department of state police.

(4) A person who violates this section is responsible for a civil infraction.

Sec. 675a. Except as provided in section 675b involving leased vehicles, in a proceeding for a violation of a local ordinance or state statute relating to a standing or parked vehicle, proof that the particular vehicle described in the citation, complaint, or warrant was parked in violation of the ordinance or state statute, together with proof from the secretary of state that the defendant named in the citation, complaint, or warrant was at the time of the violation the vehicle's registered owner, creates in evidence a presumption that the vehicle's registered owner was the person who parked or placed the vehicle at the point where and at the time that the violation occurred.

Sec. 675b. (1) The lessee or renter of a motor vehicle and not the leased vehicle owner is liable for a violation of a local ordinance or state statute relating to a standing or parked vehicle involving the motor vehicle if the leased vehicle owner furnishes proof that the vehicle described in the citation, complaint, warrant, or notice was in the possession of, custody of, or was being operated or used by the lessee or renter of the vehicle at the time of the violation.

(2) If a leased vehicle is leased or rented for 30 days or less, the leased vehicle owner may avoid liability for a violation described in subsection (1) if the leased vehicle owner provides all of the following information to the clerk of the court or parking violations bureau issuing the violation not later than 30 days after the leased vehicle owner has received notice of the violation:

(a) The lessee's or renter's name, address, and operator's or chauffeur's license number.

(b) A copy of the signed rental or lease agreement or an expedited rental agreement without signature as part of a master rental agreement, including proof of the date and time the possession of the vehicle was given to the lessee or renter and the date and time the vehicle was returned to the leased vehicle owner or the leased vehicle owner's authorized agent under the agreement.

(3) If a leased vehicle is leased or rented for 30 days or less, the leased vehicle owner is liable for a violation of a local ordinance or state statute relating to a standing or parked vehicle if 1 or more of the following occur:

(a) The leased vehicle owner does not provide the information described in subsection (2) within the 30-day period specified in that subsection.

(b) The court or parking violations bureau issuing the violation proceeds against the lessee or renter of the vehicle and the lessee or renter of the vehicle is not convicted of or found responsible for the violation.

(4) As used in this section:

(a) "Affiliate" means a person that directly or indirectly through 1 or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another person.

(b) "Leased vehicle owner" means a person in the business of renting or leasing leased vehicles or an affiliate of the person, if the person or the affiliate is the registered owner of a standing or parked leased vehicle involved in a violation of a local ordinance or state statute.

Sec. 675c. (1) Except as provided in section 675b, if a vehicle is stopped, standing, or parked in violation of section 672, 674, 674a, 675, or 676, or other state statute, or a local ordinance prohibiting or restricting the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle and the violation is a civil infraction, the person in whose name that vehicle is registered in this state or another state at the time of the violation is prima facie responsible for that violation and subject to section 907.

(2) The owner of a vehicle cited for a stopping, standing, or parking violation pursuant to subsection (1) may assert as an affirmative defense that the vehicle in question, at the time of the violation, was in the possession of a person whom the owner had not knowingly permitted to operate the vehicle.

(3) The registered owner of a vehicle who is found to be responsible for a civil infraction as the result of subsection (1) or a leased vehicle owner as defined in section 675b that is found to be responsible for a civil infraction described in section 675b has the right to recover in a civil action against the person who parked, stopped, or left standing the vehicle in question damages including, but not limited to, the amount of any civil fine or costs, or both, imposed pursuant to section 907. The registered owner of a vehicle or the leased vehicle owner may provide in a written agreement that the person who parked, stopped, or left standing the vehicle in violation of a state statute or local ordinance, when the violation is a civil infraction, shall indemnify the registered owner or the leased vehicle owner for the damages incurred including, but not limited to, any civil fine and costs imposed upon the registered owner for that civil infraction. With regard to a leased vehicle, this subsection does not apply if the court or parking violations bureau issuing the violation finds that the lessee or renter of the vehicle is not responsible for the violation and it is determined that the lessee or renter did not violate the terms of the rental contract or lease agreement.

(4) A police officer who issues a citation for a vehicle that is stopped, standing, or parked in violation of a state statute or a local ordinance prohibiting or restricting the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle may issue the citation for the violation to the operator of the vehicle if the operator is present at the time of the violation.

Sec. 675d. (1) A law enforcement agency or a local unit of government may implement and administer a program to authorize and utilize persons other than police officers as volunteers to issue citations as described in sections 742 and 743 for the violations described in section 674(1)(s) or 674(1)(aa) or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section 674(1)(s) or 674(1)(aa). Before authorizing and utilizing persons other than police officers to issue citations, the law enforcement agency or local unit of government shall implement a program to train the persons to properly issue citations as provided in this section. A person who successfully completes a program of training implemented pursuant to this section may issue citations as provided in this section as authorized by the law enforcement agency or local unit of government. A law enforcement agency of a local unit of government shall not implement or administer a program under this section without the specific authorization of the governing body of that local unit of government.

(2) As used in this section:

(a) "Law enforcement agency" means a police agency of a city, village, or township; a sheriff's department; the department of state police; or any other governmental law enforcement agency in this state.

(b) "Local unit of government" means a state university or college, county, city, village, or township.

Sec. 742. (1) A police officer who witnesses a person violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act, which violation is a civil infraction, may stop the person, detain the person temporarily for purposes of making a record of vehicle check, and prepare and subscribe, as soon as possible and as completely as possible, an original and 3 copies of a written citation, which shall be a notice to appear in court for 1 or more civil infractions. If a police officer of a village, city, township, or county, or a police officer who is an authorized agent of a county road commission, witnesses a person violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act within that village, city, township, or county and that violation is a civil infraction, that police officer may pursue, stop, and detain the person outside the village, city, township, or county where the violation occurred for the purpose of exercising the authority and performing the duties prescribed in this section and section 749, as applicable.

(2) Any police officer, having reason to believe that the load, weight, height, length, or width of a vehicle or load are in violation of section 717, 719, 719a, 722, 724, 725, or 726 which violation is a civil infraction, may require the driver of the vehicle to stop, and the officer may investigate, weigh, or measure the vehicle or load. If, after personally investigating, weighing, or measuring the vehicle or load, the officer determines that the load, weight, height, length, or width of the vehicle or load are in violation of section 717, 719, 719a, 722, 724, 725, or 726, the officer may temporarily detain the driver of the vehicle for purposes of making a record or vehicle check and issue a citation to the driver or owner of the vehicle as provided in those sections.

(3) A police officer may issue a citation to a person who is a driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident when, based upon personal investigation, the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person is responsible for a civil infraction in connection with the accident. A police officer may issue a citation to a person who is a driver of a motor vehicle when, based upon personal investigation by the police officer of a complaint by someone who witnessed the person violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act, which violation is a civil infraction, the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person is responsible for a civil infraction and if the prosecuting attorney or attorney for the political subdivision approves in writing the issuance of the citation.

(4) The form of a citation issued under subsection (1), (2), or (3) shall be as prescribed in sections 727c and 743.

(5) The officer shall inform the person of the alleged civil infraction or infractions and shall deliver the third copy of the citation to the alleged offender.

(6) In a civil infraction action involving the parking or standing of a motor vehicle, a copy of the citation need not be served personally upon the defendant but may be served upon the registered owner by attaching the copy to the vehicle. A city may authorize personnel other than a police officer to issue and serve a citation for a violation of its ordinance involving the parking or standing of a motor vehicle. A city may authorize a person other than personnel or a police officer to issue and serve a citation for a violation of an ordinance pertaining to parking for persons with disabilities or for certain other violations involving the parking or standing of a motor vehicle described in section 675d if the city has complied with the requirements of section 675d. State security personnel receiving authorization under section 6c of 1935 PA 59, MCL 28.6c, may issue and serve citations for violations involving the parking or standing of vehicles on land owned by the state or land of which the state is the lessee when authorized to do so by the director of the department of state police.

(7) If a parking violation notice other than a citation is attached to a motor vehicle, and if an admission of responsibility is not made and the civil fine and costs, if any, prescribed by ordinance for the violation are not paid at the parking violations bureau, a citation may be filed with the court described in section 741(4) and a copy of the citation may be served by first-class mail upon the registered owner of the vehicle at the owner's last known address. A parking violation notice may be issued by a police officer, including a limited duty officer, or other personnel duly authorized by the city, village, township, college, or university to issue such a notice under its ordinance. The citation filed with the court pursuant to this subsection need not comply in all particulars with sections 727c and 743 but shall consist of a sworn complaint containing the allegations stated in the parking violation notice and shall fairly inform the defendant how to respond to the citation.

(8) A citation issued under subsection (6) or (7) for a parking or standing violation shall be processed in the same manner as a citation issued personally to a defendant pursuant to subsection (1) or (3).

(9) As used in subsection (7):

(a) "Parking violation notice" means a notice, other than a citation, directing a person to appear at a parking violations bureau in the city, village, or township in which, or of the college or university for which, the notice is issued and to pay the fine and costs, if any, prescribed by ordinance for the parking or standing of a motor vehicle in violation of the ordinance.

(b) "Parking violations bureau" means a parking violations bureau established pursuant to section 8395 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.8395, the violations bureau established within the traffic and ordinance division of the recorder's court of the city of Detroit, or a comparable parking violations bureau established in a city or village served by a municipal court or established pursuant to law by the governing board of a state university or college.

Enacting section 1. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), this amendatory act takes effect October 1, 2000.

(2) Section 629e of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.629e, as amended by this amendatory act, takes effect on the date of enactment of this amendatory act.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Secretary of the Senate.

Approved

Governor.