Bill Text: MI HB6035 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Traffic control; speed restrictions; procedure to change a speed limit restriction on certain county roads; modify. Amends sec. 628 of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.628).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-11-28 - Printed Bill Filed 11/28/2012 [HB6035 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-HB6035-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 6035
November 27, 2012, Introduced by Rep. McMillin and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending section 628 (MCL 257.628), as amended by 2006 PA 85.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 628. (1) If the state transportation department and the
department of state police jointly determine upon the basis of an
engineering and traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular
traffic on a state trunk line highway is greater or less than is
reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist at an
intersection or other place or upon a part of the highway, the
departments acting jointly may determine and declare a reasonable
and safe maximum or minimum speed limit on that state trunk line
highway or intersection that shall be effective at the times
determined when appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limit
are erected at the intersection or other place or part of the
highway. The maximum speed limit on all highways or parts of
highways upon which a maximum speed limit is not otherwise fixed
under this act is 55 miles per hour, which shall be known and may
be referred to as the "general speed limit".
(2) If the county road commission, the township board, and the
department of state police unanimously determine upon the basis of
an engineering and traffic investigation that the speed of
vehicular traffic on a county highway is greater or less than is
reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist upon any
part of the highway, then acting unanimously they may establish a
reasonable and safe maximum or minimum speed limit on that county
highway that is effective at the times determined when appropriate
signs giving notice of the speed limit are erected on the highway.
A township board that does not wish to continue as part of the
process provided by this subsection shall notify in writing the
county road commission. As used in this subsection, "county road
commission"
means the board of county road commissioners elected or
appointed
under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6,
or,
in the case of a charter county with a population of 2,000,000
or
more with an elected county executive that does not have a board
of
county road commissioners, the county executive.that term as
defined in subsection (5). This subsection does not apply to gravel
county highways under subsection (5).
(3) If a superintendent of a school district determines that
the speed of vehicular traffic on a state trunk line or county
highway, which is within 1,000 feet of a school in the school
district of which that person is the superintendent, is greater or
less than is reasonable or safe, the officials identified in
subsection (1) or (2), as appropriate, shall include the
superintendent of the school district affected in acting jointly in
determining and declaring a reasonable and safe maximum or minimum
speed limit on that state trunk line or county highway.
(4) In the case of a county highway of not less than 1 mile
with residential lots with road frontage of 300 feet or less along
either side of the highway for the length of that part of the
highway that is under review for a proposed change in the speed
limit, the township board may petition the county road commission
or in charter counties where there is no road commission, but there
is a county board of commissioners, the township board may petition
the county board of commissioners for a proposed change in the
speed limit. The county road commission or in charter counties
where there is no road commission, but there is a county board of
commissioners, the township board may petition the county board of
commissioners to approve the proposed change in the speed limit
without the necessity of an engineering and traffic investigation.
(5) The county road commission and the township board
governing where a gravel county highway is located, or the county
road commission governing where a gravel county highway is located
and the department of state police, or the township board governing
where a gravel county highway is located and the department of
state police may agree to establish a reasonable and safe maximum
or minimum speed limit on that county highway that is effective at
the times determined when appropriate signs giving notice of the
speed limit are erected upon the highway. A unanimous agreement of
the 3 governmental entities listed in this subsection is not
required to establish a speed limit under this subsection. A
township board that does not wish to continue as part of the
process provided by this subsection shall notify in writing the
county road commission. As used in this subsection, "county road
commission" means any of the following:
(a) The board of county road commissioners elected or
appointed under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6.
(b) In the case of the dissolution of the county road
commission under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6,
the county board of commissioners.
(c) In the case of a charter county with a population of
2,000,000 or more with an elected county executive that does not
have a board of county road commissioners, the county executive.
(6) (5)
If upon investigation the state
transportation
department or county road commission and the department of state
police find it in the interest of public safety, they may order the
township board, or city or village officials to erect and maintain,
take down, or regulate the speed control signs, signals, or devices
as directed, and in default of an order the state transportation
department or county road commission may cause the designated
signs, signals, and devices to be erected and maintained, taken
down, regulated, or controlled, in the manner previously directed,
and pay for the erecting and maintenance, removal, regulation, or
control of the sign, signal, or device out of the highway fund
designated.
(7) (6)
A public record of all speed
control signs, signals,
or devices authorized under this section shall be filed in the
office of the county clerk of the county in which the highway is
located, and a certified copy shall be prima facie evidence in all
courts of the issuance of the authorization. The public record with
the county clerk shall not be required as prima facie evidence of
authorization in the case of signs erected or placed temporarily
for the control of speed or direction of traffic at points where
construction, repairs, or maintenance of highways is in progress,
or along a temporary alternate route established to avoid the
construction, repair, or maintenance of a highway, if the signs are
of uniform design approved by the state transportation department
and the department of state police and clearly indicate a special
control, when proved in court that the temporary traffic control
sign was placed by the state transportation department or on the
authority of the state transportation department and the department
of state police or by the county road commission or on the
authority of the county road commission, at a specified location.
(8) (7)
A person who fails to observe an
authorized speed or
traffic control sign, signal, or device is responsible for a civil
infraction.
(9) (8)
Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the
maximum speed limit on all freeways shall be 70 miles per hour
except that if the state transportation department and the
department of state police jointly determine upon the basis of an
engineering and traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular
traffic on a freeway is greater or less than is reasonable or safe
under the conditions found to exist upon a part of the freeway, the
departments acting jointly may determine and declare a reasonable
and safe maximum or minimum speed limit on that freeway that is not
more than 70 miles per hour but not less than 55 miles per hour and
that shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice of the
speed limit are erected. The minimum speed limit on all freeways is
55 miles per hour except if reduced speed is necessary for safe
operation or in compliance with law or in compliance with a special
permit issued by an appropriate authority.
(10) (9)
The maximum rates of speed allowed
under this section
are subject to the maximum rates established under section 629b,
section 627(5) to (7) for certain vehicles and vehicle
combinations, and section 629(4).
(11) (10)
Except for the general speed limit
described in
subsection
(1), speed limits established pursuant to under this
section shall be known as absolute speed limits.
