2011 House Bill 4589 / 2012 Public Act 50

Undo “two inch sidewalk crack” court ruling

Introduced in the House

April 27, 2011

Introduced by Rep. Patrick Somerville (R-23)

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 Committee on Judiciary

June 16, 2011

Reported without amendment

With the recommendation that the substitute (H-2) be adopted and that the bill then pass.

June 22, 2011

Substitute offered

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

June 23, 2011

Passed in the House 102 to 8 (details)

Received in the Senate

June 28, 2011

Referred to the Committee on Judiciary

Feb. 16, 2012

Substitute offered

The substitute passed by voice vote

Feb. 21, 2012

Passed in the Senate 36 to 0 (details)

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.

Received in the House

Feb. 21, 2012

Feb. 29, 2012

Passed in the House 104 to 2 (details)

To concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill.

Signed by Gov. Rick Snyder

March 13, 2012