April 21, 2005, Introduced by Senator McMANUS and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
(MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding part 705.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
PART 705. GREAT LAKES OUTDOOR RECREATION VIOLATOR COMPACT
Sec. 70501. The governor of this state may enter into a
compact on behalf of this state with any of the other states of the
United States with territory in the Great Lakes basin legally
joining in the compact in the form substantially as follows:
ARTICLE I
FINDINGS, DECLARATION OF POLICY, AND PURPOSE
(a) The participating states find all of the following:
(1) Outdoor recreational resources are managed in trust by the
respective states for the benefit of all residents and visitors.
(2) The preservation, protection, management, and restoration
of outdoor recreational resources confer immeasurable aesthetic and
economic benefits.
(3) The protection of the outdoor recreational resources of a
state is materially affected by the degree of compliance with state
laws relating to the management of such resources.
(4) Violation of outdoor recreational resource laws threatens
outdoor recreational resources and the safety of persons and
property.
(5) The value of outdoor recreational resources is not
dependent on whether those resources are located in the user's home
state. Therefore, every person should be required to comply with
outdoor recreational resource preservation, protection, management,
and restoration laws of all the participating states as a condition
precedent to holding any public park, trail, forest, or campground,
snowmobile, watercraft, or off-road vehicle license or permit in
any of the participating states.
(6) The mobility of many outdoor recreational resource law
violators necessitates procedures for communication among the
states.
(7) In most instances, a person who is cited for an outdoor
recreational resource violation in a state other than his or her
home state is subject to 1 of the following:
(i) The person is required to post collateral or a bond to
secure appearance for a trial at a later date or is taken into
custody until the collateral or bond is posted.
(ii) The person is taken directly to court for an immediate
appearance.
(8) The purpose of the enforcement practices set forth in
subparagraph (7) is to ensure compliance with the terms of an
outdoor recreational resource citation by the cited person who, if
permitted to continue on his or her way after receiving the
citation, could return to his or her home state and disregard the
citation.
(9) In most instances, a person receiving an outdoor
recreational resource citation in his or her home state is
permitted to accept the citation from the officer at the scene of
the violation and immediately continue on his or her way after
agreeing to or being instructed to comply with the terms of the
citation.
(10) The practices described in subparagraph (7) cause
unnecessary inconvenience and, at times, a hardship for the person
who is unable at the time to post collateral, furnish a bond, stand
trial, or pay a fine, and thus is compelled to remain in custody
until some alternative arrangement is made.
(11) The enforcement practices described in subparagraph (7)
consume an undue amount of law enforcement time.
(b) It is the policy of each of the participating states to:
(1) Promote compliance with the state laws relating to
management of outdoor recreational resources in their respective
jurisdictions.
(2) Treat the suspension, by any other participating state, of
outdoor recreational resource license privileges of any person as
if it had been imposed by that state.
(3) Subject to paragraph (b) of article III, allow a violator
to accept an outdoor recreational resource citation and, without
delay, proceed on his or her way, if the violator's home state is
the state in which the citation was issued or is another
participating state.
(4) As provided in the compact manual, report any conviction
entered in that state against a person whose home state is another
participating state to the person's home state.
(5) Allow the home state to treat convictions recorded against
its residents, which were entered in another participating state,
as if they had been entered in the home state.
(6) Fully cooperate to enforce compliance with the terms of an
outdoor recreational resource citation issued in 1 participating
state to a resident of another participating state.
(7) Maximize effective use of law enforcement personnel and
information.
(8) Assist court systems in the efficient disposition of
outdoor recreational resource violations.
(c) The purpose of this compact is to:
(1) Provide a means through which participating states may
join in a reciprocal program to effectuate the policies enumerated
in paragraph (b) of this article in a uniform and orderly manner.
(2) Provide for the fair and impartial treatment of outdoor
recreational resource violators operating within participating
states in recognition of the violator's right to due process and
the sovereign status of a participating state.
ARTICLE II
DEFINITIONS
As used in this compact, unless the context requires
otherwise:
(a) "Board" means the board of compact administrators
established under article VII.
(b) "Citation" means any summons, complaint, summons and
complaint, ticket, penalty assessment, or other official document
issued to a person by a recreation officer for a recreation
violation which contains an order requiring the person to respond.
(c) "Collateral" means any cash or other security deposited to
secure an appearance for trial in connection with the issuance by a
recreation officer or other peace officer of a citation for a
recreation violation.
(d) "Compact administrator" means the representative of a
participating state on the board of compact administrators.
(e) "Compliance" or "comply" with respect to a citation means
or refers to the act of answering a citation through an appearance
in a court or tribunal, or through the payment of fines, costs, and
surcharges, if any.
(f) "Conviction" means a conviction for any violation of state
law related to a public park, trail, forest, or campground, or a
snowmobile, watercraft, or off-road vehicle, the forfeiture of any
bail, bond, or other security deposited to secure appearance by a
person charged with having committed any such offense, or the
payment of a penalty assessment, a plea of nolo contendere, or the
imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by the court for
such an offense.
(g) "Court" means a court of law, including magistrate's court
or a justice of the peace court.
(h) "Home state" means the state of primary residence of a
person.
(i) "Issuing state" means a participating state that issues a
recreation citation to a violator.
(j) "License" means any license, permit, or other public
document which conveys to the person to whom it was issued the
privilege of using a public park, trail, forest, or campground, or
a snowmobile, watercraft, or off-road vehicle regulated by state
law of a participating state.
(k) "Licensing authority" means the department or division
within each participating state which is authorized by law to issue
or approve licenses.
(l) "Participating state" means any state that enacts
legislation to become a member of this outdoor recreation compact.
(m) "Personal recognizance" means an agreement by a person
made at the time of issuance of a citation that the person will
comply with the terms of the citation.
(n) "Recreation law" means a state law governing the
management of a public park, trail, forest, or campground and the
uses thereof or the licensing and regulation of snowmobiles,
watercraft, or off-road vehicles.
(o) "Recreation officer" means any individual authorized by a
participating state to issue a citation for a recreation violation.
(p) "Recreation violation" means any cited violation of a
recreation law.
(q) "State" means any state of the United States or province
of Canada with territory in the Great Lakes basin.
(r) "State law" means a state statute, regulation, or
administrative rule.
(s) "Suspension" means any revocation, denial, or withdrawal
of any or all license privileges, including the privilege to apply
for, purchase, or exercise the benefits conferred by any license.
(t) "Terms of the citation" means those conditions and options
expressly stated upon the citation.
ARTICLE III
PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING STATE
(a) A recreation officer shall issue a citation to a person
whose home state is another participating state in the same manner
as if the person's home state were the issuing state and shall not
require the person to post collateral to secure appearance, subject
to paragraph (b), if the recreation officer receives the
recognizance of such person that he or she will comply with the
terms of the citation.
(b) Personal recognizance is acceptable if not prohibited by
state law or the compact manual and if the violator provides
adequate proof of identification to the recreation officer.
(c) Upon conviction or failure of a person to comply with a
citation, the appropriate official shall report the conviction or
failure to comply to the licensing authority of the issuing state.
The report shall be made pursuant to procedures specified by the
issuing state and shall contain information, as specified in the
compact manual, necessary for effective processing by the home
state.
(d) Upon receipt of the report of conviction or noncompliance
pursuant to paragraph (c), the licensing authority of the issuing
state shall transmit to the licensing authority of the home state
of the violator the information in the form and with the content as
prescribed in the compact manual.
ARTICLE IV
PROCEDURE FOR HOME STATE
(a) Upon receipt of a report from the licensing authority of
an issuing state that a violator failed to comply with a citation,
the licensing authority of the home state, subject to the
requirements of due process, shall notify the violator, initiate a
suspension action in accordance with the home state's suspension
procedures, and suspend the violator's license privileges until
satisfactory evidence of compliance with the terms of the citation
has been furnished by the issuing state to the home state licensing
authority.
(b) Upon receipt of a report of conviction from the licensing
authority of the issuing state, the licensing authority of the home
state shall enter such conviction in its records and shall treat
such conviction as though it occurred in the home state for the
purposes of the suspension of license privileges.
(c) The licensing authority of the home state shall maintain a
record of actions taken and shall make reports to issuing states as
provided in the compact manual.
ARTICLE V
RECIPROCAL RECOGNITION OF SUSPENSION
(a) Each participating state shall recognize the suspension of
license privileges of any person, by any other participating state,
as though the violation resulting in the suspension had occurred in
that state and would have been the basis for a mandatory suspension
of license privileges in that state.
(b) Each participating state shall communicate suspension
information to other participating states in the form and with the
content as required by the compact manual.
ARTICLE VI
APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS
(a) Except as otherwise expressly required by this compact,
this compact does not affect the right of any participating state
to apply any of its laws relating to license privileges to any
person or circumstance or to invalidate or prevent any agreement or
other cooperative arrangement between a participating state and a
nonparticipating state concerning recreation law enforcement.
ARTICLE VII
COMPACT ADMINISTRATOR PROCEDURES
(a) For the purpose of administering this compact and to serve
as a governing body for the resolution of all matters relating to
the operation of this compact, a board of compact administrators is
established. The board shall be composed of 1 representative from
each participating state, to be known as the compact administrator.
The compact administrator shall be appointed by the head of the
licensing authority of each participating state and shall serve and
be subject to removal under the laws of the state he or she
represents. A compact administrator may provide for the discharge
of his or her duties and the performance of his or her functions as
a board member by an alternate. An alternate is not entitled to
serve unless written notification of his or her identity has been
given to the board.
(b) Each member of the board of compact administrators is
entitled to 1 vote. An action of the board is not binding unless
taken at a meeting at which a majority of the total number of the
board's votes are cast in favor thereof. Action by the board shall
be only at a meeting at which a majority of the participating
states are represented.
(c) The board shall elect annually from its membership a
chairperson and vice-chairperson.
(d) The board shall adopt bylaws not inconsistent with this
compact or the laws of a participating state for the conduct of its
business and may amend and rescind its bylaws.
(e) The board may accept for any of its purposes and functions
under this compact donations and grants of money, equipment,
supplies, materials, and services, conditional or otherwise, from
any state, the United States, or any governmental agency, and may
receive, utilize and dispose of the donations and grants.
(f) The board may contract with, or accept services or
personnel from, any governmental or intergovernmental agency,
individual, firm, or corporation, or any private nonprofit
organization or institution.
(g) The board shall formulate all necessary procedures and
develop uniform forms and documents for administering this compact.
The board shall compile the procedures and forms in a compact
manual.
ARTICLE VIII
ENTRY INTO COMPACT AND WITHDRAWAL
(a) This compact shall take effect when it is adopted in a
substantially similar form by 2 or more states.
(b) Entry into the compact shall be made by resolution of
ratification executed by the authorized officials of the applying
state. If a board has already been established under article VII,
the resolution shall be submitted to the chairperson of the board.
The resolution shall substantially be in the form and content as
provided in the compact manual, if a compact manual has already
been compiled under article VII, and shall include all of the
following:
(1) A citation of the authority from which the state is
empowered to become a party to this compact.
(2) An agreement of compliance with the terms and provisions
of this compact.
(3) An agreement that compact entry is with all states
participating in the compact and with all additional states legally
becoming a party to the compact.
(4) The proposed effective date of entry into the compact,
subject to paragraph (c).
(c) Promptly after receiving a resolution of ratification of
the compact from a state seeking to enter the compact, the
chairperson of the board shall submit written notice of the
ratification to the compact administrator of each participating
state. The effective date of entry shall not be less than 60 days
after such notice is given by the chairperson of the board under
paragraph (b), if applicable.
(d) A participating state may withdraw from participation in
this compact by written notice to every other participating state
given at least 90 days before the effective date of the withdrawal.
The notice shall be directed to the compact administrator of each
participating state. The withdrawal of any state does not affect
the validity of this compact as to the remaining participating
states.
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPACT
(a) This compact may be amended. Amendments shall be presented
in resolution form to the chairperson of the board by 1 or more
participating states.
(b) Adoption of an amendment shall require endorsement by all
participating states. An amendment shall take effect 30 days after
the date of the last endorsement.
(c) Failure of a participating state to respond to the compact
chairperson within 120 days after receipt of a proposed amendment
shall constitute endorsement thereof.
ARTICLE X
CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY
This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate
the purposes stated herein. The provisions of this compact are
severable and if any provision of this compact is declared to be
contrary to the constitution of any participating state or of the
United States, or the applicability thereof to any government,
agency, individual, or circumstance is held invalid, the validity
of the remainder of this compact shall not be affected thereby. If
this compact is held contrary to the constitution of any
participating state, the compact shall remain in full force and
effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as
to the participating state affected as to all severable matters.
ARTICLE XI
TITLE
This compact shall be known as the "Great Lakes outdoor
recreation violator compact".