SB-0490, As Passed House, June 25, 2009
April 29, 2009, Introduced by Senators GILBERT, ALLEN and PRUSI and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1950 (Ex Sess) PA 21, entitled
"An act to create the Mackinac bridge authority, and to prescribe
its powers and duties; to provide for the determination of the
physical and financial feasibility of a bridge connecting the upper
and lower peninsulas of Michigan; to provide for a board of
consulting engineers, and to prescribe its powers and duties; and
to make an appropriation to carry out the provisions of this act,"
(MCL 254.301 to 254.302) by amending the title and by adding
section 1a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
TITLE
An
act to create the Mackinac bridge authority , and to
prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for the determination
of the physical and financial feasibility of a bridge connecting
the
upper and lower peninsulas Upper
and Lower Peninsulas of
Michigan; to provide for a board of consulting engineers , and to
prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for self-insurance; to
provide for the funding of claims; to provide for the authority to
enter into agreements with certain state agencies; to prescribe
certain duties of certain state agencies; and to make an
appropriation to carry out the provisions of this act.
Sec. 1a. (1) The authority may enter into an agreement with
the state transportation department to provide for the self-
insurance of bridge assets and activities. The agreement shall set
forth the terms and conditions of the self-insurance consistent
with this section.
(2) The agreement may provide that, to the extent that claims
would otherwise have been paid under an insurance policy carried by
the authority, the claims shall be paid from a self-insurance
reserve account to be established and maintained by the authority.
If there are insufficient funds in the account to pay a claim, the
balance of the claim shall be paid by the state transportation
department from funds constitutionally restricted to transportation
purposes by section 9 of article IX of the state constitution of
1963.
(3) The self-insurance reserve account shall be funded by
annual payments by the authority of at least $200,000.00 until the
total of the account equals at least $1,000,000.00, as the
authority and the state transportation department may agree. Once
the account is fully funded, the authority may cease payments to
the account except to the extent that the payments again become
necessary to restore a balance of $1,000,000.00 after the payment
of claims from the account.
(4) In any lawsuit filed against the authority for damages
that are covered by the self-insurance agreement, the state
transportation department shall defend the authority and control
the course and disposition of the litigation as if the claim were
against the state transportation department. The state
transportation department shall advise the authority of pending
litigation and consult with the authority regarding the potential
disposition of the matter. The state transportation department's
cost of the litigation and any settlement or judgment shall be paid
as a claim from the self-insurance reserve account or state
transportation department funds as provided in this section and the
agreement.