Bill Text: MI HB4307 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Torts: governmental immunity; governmental agency and employee liability for criminal sexual conduct; allow. Amends sec. 7 of 1964 PA 170 (MCL 691.1407) & adds sec. 7d.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-24 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 02/23/2021 [HB4307 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-HB4307-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 4307
February 23, 2021, Introduced by Reps. Berman,
Brixie, Wozniak, Maddock, Peterson, Steckloff, Cambensy, Cynthia Johnson
and O'Neal and referred to the Committee on Oversight.
A bill to amend 1964 PA 170, entitled
"An act to make uniform the liability of municipal corporations, political subdivisions, and the state, its agencies and departments, officers, employees, and volunteers thereof, and members of certain boards, councils, and task forces when engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function, for injuries to property and persons; to define and limit this liability; to define and limit the liability of the state when engaged in a proprietary function; to authorize the purchase of liability insurance to protect against loss arising out of this liability; to provide for defending certain claims made against public officers, employees, and volunteers and for paying damages sought or awarded against them; to provide for the legal defense of public officers, employees, and volunteers; to provide for reimbursement of public officers and employees for certain legal expenses; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
by amending section 7 (MCL 691.1407), as amended by 2013 PA 173, and by adding section 7d.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 7. (1)
Except as otherwise provided in this act, a governmental agency is immune from
tort liability if the governmental agency is engaged in the exercise or
discharge of a governmental function. Except as otherwise provided in this act,
this act does not modify or restrict the immunity of the state from tort
liability as it existed before July 1, 1965, which immunity is affirmed.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, act,
and without regard to the discretionary or ministerial nature of
the conduct in question, each officer and employee of a governmental agency,
each volunteer acting on behalf of a governmental agency, and each member of a
board, council, commission, or statutorily created task force of a governmental
agency is immune from tort liability for an injury to a person or damage to
property caused by the officer, employee, or member while in the course of
employment or service or caused by the volunteer while acting on behalf of a
governmental agency if all of the following are met:
(a) The officer, employee, member, or volunteer is acting or
reasonably believes he or she is acting within the scope of his or her
authority.
(b) The governmental agency is engaged in the exercise or discharge
of a governmental function.
(c) The officer's, employee's, member's, or volunteer's
conduct does not amount to gross negligence that is the proximate cause of the
injury or damage.
(3) Subsection (2) does not alter the law of intentional
torts as it existed before July 7, 1986.
(4) This act does not grant immunity to a governmental agency
or an employee or agent of a governmental agency with respect to providing
medical care or treatment to a patient, except medical care or treatment
provided to a patient in a hospital owned or operated by the department of community health and human services or a hospital owned or operated by
the department of corrections and except care or treatment provided by an
uncompensated search and rescue operation medical assistant or tactical
operation medical assistant.
(5) A judge, a legislator, and the elective or highest
appointive executive official of all levels of government are immune from tort
liability for injuries to persons or damages to property if he or she is acting
within the scope of his or her judicial, legislative, or executive authority.
(6) A guardian ad litem is immune from civil liability for an
injury to a person or damage to property if he or she is acting within the
scope of his or her authority as guardian ad litem. This subsection applies to
actions filed before, on, or after May 1, 1996.
(7) The immunity provided by this act does not apply to
liability of a governmental agency under the MISS DIG underground facility
damage prevention and safety act, 2013 PA 174, MCL 460.721 to
460.733.
(8) As used in this section:
(a) "Gross negligence" means conduct so reckless as
to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results.
(b) "Search and rescue operation" means an action
by a governmental agency to search for, rescue, or recover victims of a natural
or manmade disaster, accident, or emergency on land or water.
(c) "Search and rescue operation medical assistant"
means an individual licensed to practice 1 or more of the occupations listed in
subdivision (e), acting within the scope of the license, and assisting a
governmental agency in a search and rescue operation.
(d) "Tactical operation" means a coordinated,
planned action by a special operations, weapons, or response team of a law
enforcement agency that is 1 of the following:
(i) Taken to deal with
imminent violence, a riot, an act of terrorism, or a similar civic emergency.
(ii) The entry into a building, area, watercraft, aircraft, land
vehicle, or body of water to seize evidence, or to arrest an individual for a
felony, under the authority of a warrant issued by a court.
(iii) Training for the team.
(e) "Tactical
operation medical assistant" means an individual licensed to practice 1 or
more of the following, acting within the scope of the license, and assisting
law enforcement officers while they are engaged in a tactical operation:
(i) Medicine, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or as a
registered professional nurse, under article 15 of the public health code, 1978
PA 368, MCL 333.16101 to 333.18838.
(ii) As an emergency medical technician, emergency medical
technician specialist, or paramedic under part 209 of the public health code,
1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20901 to 333.20979.
Sec. 7d. (1) This act does not grant
immunity to a governmental agency or an employee or agent of a governmental
agency with respect to conduct involving criminal sexual conduct if the
governmental agency or employee or agent of the governmental agency knew or
should have known that the individual who committed the criminal sexual conduct
had committed a prior act of criminal sexual conduct and the governmental
agency or employee or agent of the governmental agency failed to act or
intervene to prevent the subsequent criminal sexual conduct.
(2)
Nothing in this, any previous, or any subsequent act limits the availability of
causes of action permitted to a plaintiff, including causes of action against
persons other than the individual alleged to have committed the criminal sexual
conduct.
(3)
For purposes of this section, it is not necessary for a criminal prosecution or
other proceeding to have been brought as a result of the criminal sexual
conduct or if a criminal prosecution or other proceeding has been brought, for
the prosecution or proceeding to have resulted in a conviction or adjudication.
(4)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Adjudication" means an adjudication of 1 or more offenses under
chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.1 to 712A.32.
(b)
"Criminal sexual conduct" means conduct prohibited under section
520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, or 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL
750.520b, 750.520c, 750.520d, 750.520e, and 750.520g.
Enacting
section 1. This amendatory act is curative, must be retroactively applied, applies
to actions pending on the effective date of this amendatory act, and is
intended to express the original intent of the legislature regarding the
application of 1964 PA 170, MCL 691.1401 to 691.1419.