Legislation watch
2011 House Bill 4589: Undo “two inch sidewalk crack” court ruling
Public Act 50 of 2012
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- Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R) on April 27, 2011, to revise the law that establishes the extent to which a person can sue a local government or officials for failure to perform a governmental function. The bill would reverse the effect of a recent Supreme Court case related to sidewalk cracks. The court held that a statute establishing that a government is liable only for a sidewalk defect or “discontinuity” greater than two inches applies only to county roads. The bill would extend this to a sidewalk adjacent to “any municipal, county or state” highway, street or road.
- Referred to the House Judiciary Committee on April 27, 2011.
- Reported in the House on June 16, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-2) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on June 22, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on June 22, 2011.
- Referred to the House Judiciary Committee on April 27, 2011.
- Passed 102 to 8 in the House on June 23, 2011.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on June 28, 2011.
- Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 28, 2011.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on February 16, 2012. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on February 16, 2012.
- Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on February 21, 2012, to revise the law that establishes the extent to which a person can sue a local government or officials for failure to perform a governmental function. The bill would reverse the effect of a recent Supreme Court case related to sidewalk cracks. The court held that a statute establishing that a government is liable only for a sidewalk defect or “discontinuity” greater than two inches applies only to county roads. The bill would extend this to a sidewalk adjacent to “any municipal, county or state” highway, street or road.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the House on February 21, 2012.
- Passed 104 to 2 in the House on February 29, 2012, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on March 13, 2012.
Comments
1) Re: 2011 House Bill 4589 (Undo “two inch sidewalk crack” court ruling ) by dougmrich on March 3, 2012
This is a great law, but ignorance of the law is often exercised by city officials- I live in Bay City and have filed (2) written separate complaints about my city side walk. Due to (City) trees located on city property parallel to the side walk the sidewalk has lifted over 4 inches, I have personally witnessed several people trip on this gap (Nothing) has been done. I live in a upper class part of the city, many people walk these sidewalks on a daily basis, its just a matter of time and someone will be injured, so they can sue, money can not buy health.
Introduced in the House on April 27, 2011, to revise the law that establishes the extent to which a person can sue a local government or officials for failure to perform a governmental function. The bill would reverse the effect of a recent Supreme Court case related to sidewalk cracks. The court held that a statute establishing that a government is liable only for a sidewalk defect or “discontinuity” greater than two inches applies only to county roads. The bill would extend this to a sidewalk adjacent to “any municipal, county or state” highway, street or road
The vote was 102 in favor, 8 opposed and 0 not voting
(House Roll Call 221 at House Journal 0)
Click here to view bill details.
