Bill Text: MI HB5548 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Torts: governmental immunity; accountability for public officials; modify. Amends secs. 1 & 7 of 1964 PA 170 (MCL 691.1401 & 691.1407) & adds sec. 6b.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-07 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 03/06/2024 [HB5548 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-HB5548-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 5548
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 sections 1 and 7 (MCL 691.1401 and 691.1407), section 1 as amended by 2012 PA 50 and section 7 as amended by 2013 PA 173, and by adding section 6b.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
(a) "Governmental agency" means this state or a political subdivision.
(b) "Governmental function" means an activity that is expressly or impliedly mandated or authorized by constitution, statute, local charter or ordinance, or other law. Governmental function includes an activity performed on public or private property by a sworn law enforcement officer within the scope of the law enforcement officer's authority, as directed or assigned by his or her public employer for the purpose of public safety.
(c) "Gross negligence" means conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results.
(d) (c) "Highway" means a public highway, road, or street that is open for public travel. Highway includes a bridge, sidewalk, trailway, crosswalk, or culvert on the highway. Highway does not include an alley, tree, or utility pole.
(e) (d) "Municipal corporation" means a city, village, or township or a combination of 2 or more of these when acting jointly.
(f) (e) "Political subdivision" means a municipal corporation, county, county road commission, school district, community college district, port district, metropolitan district, or transportation authority or a combination of 2 or more of these when acting jointly; a district or authority authorized by law or formed by 1 or more political subdivisions; or an agency, department, court, board, or council of a political subdivision.
(g) (f) "Sidewalk", except as used in subdivision (c), (d), means a paved public sidewalk intended for pedestrian use situated outside of and adjacent to the improved portion of a highway designed for vehicular travel.
(h) (g) "State" means this state and its agencies, departments, commissions, courts, boards, councils, and statutorily created task forces. State includes a public university or college of this state, whether established as a constitutional corporation or otherwise.
(i) (h) "Township" means a general law township or a charter township.
(j) (i) "Volunteer" means an individual who is specifically designated as a volunteer and who is acting solely on behalf of a governmental agency.
Sec. 6b. (1) A school district is liable for damages that arise from the death or serious personal injury of a student, employee, officer, or volunteer of the school district if the death or serious personal injury occurs on property of the school district and if the gross negligence of a school district officer, employee, or volunteer was a proximate cause of the death or serious personal injury. The gross negligence of a school district officer, employee, or volunteer may consist of any of the following:
(a) Subject to subsection (2), failing to report any of the following to the appropriate school district officer or employee or to a law enforcement agency, or both, if a reasonably careful school district officer, employee, or volunteer would report the threat under the circumstances:
(i) A threat to injure, including, but not limited to, a threat to kill, a school district student, employee, officer, or volunteer.
(ii) A threat to damage school district property, if the threatened destructive conduct might result in injury, including, but not limited to, death, to a school district student, employee, officer, or volunteer.
(b) Failing to report conduct of a school district student, or of a former student who is less than 22 years old, that would indicate to a reasonable person that the student or former student may present a risk of death or serious personal injury to a school district student, employee, officer, or volunteer, regardless of the manner in which the officer, employee, or volunteer gains knowledge of the conduct, to the appropriate school district officer or employee or to a law enforcement agency, or both, if a reasonably careful school district officer, employee, or volunteer would report the conduct under the circumstances.
(c) Failing to do anything else that a reasonably careful school district officer, employee, or volunteer would do under the circumstances to prevent death or serious personal injury.
(2) Under subsection (1)(b), a threat must amount to fighting words, incitement to violence, or similar language. The school district officer, employee, or volunteer must have credible evidence of the threat, not just hearsay evidence. A threat includes tangible evidence that a crime could be committed soon, such as a detailed drawing or a social media post.
(3) An officer, employee, or volunteer of a school district whose gross negligence was a proximate cause of the death or serious personal injury as described in subsection (1) is also liable for the damages that arise from the death or serious personal injury.
(4) As used in this section, "serious personal injury" means serious impairment of body function, as that term is defined in section 3135 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.3135.
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, 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) Subsection (2) does not apply to the liability of an officer, employee, or volunteer of a school district for death or serious personal injury under section 6b.
(9) (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.
(a) (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.
(b) (c) "Search and rescue operation medical assistant" means an individual licensed to practice 1 or more of the occupations listed in subdivision (e), (d), acting within the scope of the license, and assisting a governmental agency in a search and rescue operation.
(c) (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.
(d) (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.
