Introduced
by
To allow townships to establish an administrative hearings bureau to adjudicate and impose civil fines of up to $10,000 for blight violations. This would allow the township to avoid going to court to enforce these ordinances. Blight bureau hearings would have somewhat more relaxed rules and procedures than regular courts. A lien could be placed against the “blighted” property for any unpaid fines. An alleged violator could appeal a fine in a regular court, which could base its judgment on the bureau hearings record rather than going through the evidence itself. Violations of the following types of ordinance could be declared “blight” violations subject this procedure (see Senate Bills 886 to 888): zoning; building or property maintenance; solid waste and illegal dumping; disease and sanitation; noxious weeds; vehicle abandonment, inoperative vehicles, vehicle impoundment, and municipal vehicle licensing. <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2003-2004/billanalysis/house/htm/2003-HLA-5216-b.htm">Public Act 316 of 2003</a> gave Detroit and some cities similar authority.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
