September 25, 2018, Introduced by Rep. Victory and referred to the Committee on Local Government.
A bill to amend 1956 PA 40, entitled
"The drain code of 1956,"
by amending sections 101, 102, 103, 191, and 192 (MCL 280.101,
280.102, 280.103, 280.191, and 280.192), section 101 as amended by
2014 PA 551.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 101. (1) Before any action is taken on a petition to
locate, establish, and construct a drain that will traverse lands
in more than 1 county, or affect more than 1 county, an application
shall
must be filed with a commissioner having jurisdiction of
any
of the lands to lay out and designate a drainage district. The
application shall tentatively describe the location and route of
the proposed drain. Except as provided in subsection (2), the
application
shall be signed by a number of freeholders in the
drainage
district whose lands would be liable to an assessment for
benefits,
equal to 50% of any of the freeholders whose lands would
be
traversed by the drain or drains applied for or that abut on any
highway
or street along the side of which the drain extends,
between
a point where the drain enters the highway and the point
where
it leaves the highway and which lands are within the drainage
district.
not fewer than 10 freeholders
of the municipalities in
which the proposed drain or the lands proposed to be drained are
located. Five or more of the signers shall be the owners of land
that will be liable for an assessment for the construction of the
proposed drain. However, if it appears to the drain commissioner to
whom the application is submitted that the district may not include
20 freeholders whose lands will be liable for an assessment, the
application shall be received if at least 1 of the signers is a
freeholder whose land will be liable for an assessment. The
eligibility of the signers to the application shall be determined
by their interest of record in the office of the register of deeds,
in the probate court, or in the circuit court of the county in
which
the lands are situated located
at the time the petition is
filed.
(2)
An application under subsection (1) may need only be
signed
by a representative of the city, village, or township if a
municipality
authorized by its governing body, if the
both of the
following apply:
(a) The proposed drain is necessary for the public health of
the
city, village, or township, and if the city, village, or
township
municipality.
(b) The municipality will be liable for an assessment at large
against
it for a percentage of the cost of
the proposed drain.
Sec.
102. (1) Upon filing of such Within 20 days after an
application is filed under section 101, the commissioner shall
within
20 days send a copy of such the application
by registered
certified
mail to the state director of the department of
agriculture
and rural development and also to the drain
commissioner
of each county in which lie lands liable for
assessment
for benefits for the construction of such proposed that
will benefit from the drain are located. The drain commissioners of
such
the counties and the director of the department of agriculture
and
rural development or any deputy designated
by him shall be and
the director constitute the drainage board.
(2) The
state director of the
department of agriculture and
rural
development shall call a meeting of such
the drainage board.
,
which The meeting shall be held not less than 15 and not more
than
60 days from after the director's
receipt of such notice. Such
the application under subsection (1). The meeting shall be held in
the
immediate locality of the proposed drainage district. Notices
of
such A notice of the meeting shall be posted in 5 public places
within
the proposed drainage district within each county, and
served by the respective drain commissioner on the county clerk of
each county and the mayor of each city, president of each village,
and supervisor of each township within the proposed drainage
district
personally or by registered certified
mail at least 10
days
before such the public meeting. A notice of such the meeting
shall
be published in each county affected in which lands liable
for assessments for the drain are located once a week for 2
consecutive
weeks before such the meeting in a newspaper of general
circulation
in such the county, if there is one, the such a
newspaper.
The first publication to shall be
at least 10 days
before the meeting.
Sec.
103. (1) Upon convening said meeting the state The
director of the department of agriculture and rural development or
any
a deputy selected by him the director shall act as chairman.
chairperson at the meeting of the drainage board under section 102.
The
said drainage board shall consider such the application to lay
out and designate a drainage district and do all of the following
at
the meeting: application, and
determine
(a)
Determine the sufficiency of the
signatures thereto, and
shall
go over on the application. If
the signatures are
insufficient, no further action shall be taken on that application.
(b)
Consider the route and type of construction of said the
proposed
drain. and take
(c)
Take testimony to determine its the practicability .
All
persons
owning of the proposed drain.
(2) If a member of the drainage board would be disqualified
under sections 381 and 383 from making an apportionment of
benefits, both of the following apply:
(a) The drainage board member is disqualified from
participation in the determination of practicability.
(b) A special commissioner shall be appointed pursuant to
section 381 to serve as a member of the drainage board to determine
practicability.
(3) The owner of any lands that would be liable to assessment
for
benefits for the proposed drain or whose lands shall would be
crossed
by said the drain or any municipality affected may appear
for
or against said the drain proceedings. If at said the meeting
or at any subsequent time before the entry of the order designating
a
drainage district, they shall determine the drainage board
determines that the drainage of the proposed drain area is not
practical,
practicable, no further action shall be taken thereon on
that
application within 1 year. If said the proposed
drain is
determined
to be practical, practicable,
then the drainage board
shall
cause a survey thereof to be made by a competent licensed
professional
surveyor or engineer to ascertain the
area which that
would
be drained benefited by the proposed drain , and the route
and type of construction of drain or drains most serviceable for
that purpose.
Sec.
191. (1) When If
a drain or portion thereof, which of a
drain
traverses lands wholly in 1 county, and
if lands only in 1
county
which is are subject to assessment, and if the drain needs
cleaning out, relocating, widening, deepening, straightening,
tiling,
extending, or relocating along a highway, or requires
structures or mechanical devices that will properly purify or
improve the flow of the drain or pumping equipment necessary to
assist
or relieve the flow of the drain, or needs supplementing by
the construction of 1 or more relief drains, which may consist of
new drains or extensions, enlargements, or connections to existing
drains,
or needs 1 or more branches added thereto, to the drain,
any 5 freeholders or at least 50% of the freeholders if there are
less
fewer than 5 freeholders whose lands shall be liable to an
assessment
for benefits of such the work, may make petition in
writing to the commissioner setting forth the necessity of the
proposed
work. and Upon
filing of the petition, the
commissioner
shall proceed in the same manner provided in this act for the
location,
establishment, and construction of a drain. If the
project
includes a tiled relief drain, or the tiling of an existing
open
drain or any portion thereof, with a conduit a part of which
has
an inside diameter in excess of 36 inches or the retiling of an
existing
drain with a conduit, a part of which has an inside
diameter
in excess of 36 inches, then the petition shall comply
with
section 71. The preceding sentence shall not be applicable to
the
construction of bridges, culverts, and passageways. The word
tiling
as used in this and other sections of this act, means the
laying
of a conduit composed of tile, brick, concrete, or other
material.
When it
(2) If the petition described in subsection (1) is necessary
for
the public health of 1 or more cities, villages, and or
townships, the petition may be signed solely by a representative of
a
city, village, or township when if authorized
by its governing
body or by authorized representatives of a combination of the
municipalities,
if the municipality or municipalities are will be
liable to assessments at large for a percentage of the total amount
assessed
for the cost of the proposed work. After
(3) As soon as practicable after the board of determination
determines the necessity for the work, as provided in section 72,
and
the commissioner shall, as soon as
practicable after files the
final
order of determination prescribed in section 151, has been
filed
by him, the commissioner
shall proceed as provided in
sections
151 to 161. If chapter 7. However,
if the apportionment is
the
same as the last recorded apportionments, no a day
of review is
necessary,
but in other cases the commissioner shall proceed as
provided
in sections 151 to 161, including the notice of and the
holding
of a day of review.not
required.
Sec.
192. (1) Whenever If a drain or portion thereof,
which of
a
drain traverses lands in more than 1
county, and if lands in more
than
1 county shall be are subject to assessments, and if the drain
needs cleaning out, relocating, widening, deepening, straightening,
tiling,
extending, or relocating along a highway, or requires
structures or mechanical devices that will properly purify or
improve the flow of the drain or pumping equipment necessary to
assist
or relieve the flow of the drain, or needs supplementing by
the construction of 1 or more relief drains, which may consist of
new drains or extensions, enlargements or connections to existing
drains,
or needs 1 or more branches added thereto, freeholders
within
the drainage district equal to 50% of the number of
freeholders
whose lands are traversed by said drain or drains in
said
petition or abut on any highway or street along either side of
which
such drain extends, between the point where said drain enters
such
highway and the point where it leaves such highway or street
and
which lands are within the drainage district, to the drain, any
5 freeholders or at least 50% of the freeholders if there are fewer
than 5 freeholders whose lands shall be liable to an assessment for
benefits of the work, may make a petition in writing to the
commissioner
of any county having lands in such the district
setting
forth the necessity of such the
proposed work. Whenever it
(2) If the petition described in subsection (1) is necessary
for the public health of 1 or more cities, villages or townships,
the petition may be signed solely by a representative of a city,
village, or
township when duly if authorized by its governing body
or
by authorized representatives of any combination of such the
municipalities if the municipality or municipalities will be liable
to assessments at large for a percentage of the total amount to be
assessed for the cost of the proposed work. The percentage of cost
apportioned to the municipality or municipalities shall be based
upon
the benefits to accrue to such the
municipality or
municipalities and also the extent to which they contribute to the
conditions
which makes that make the drain necessary.
(3)
Upon receipt of such a petition under subsection (1), the
commissioner
shall notify the state director of agriculture and the
commissioners
of each county embracing any lands in the drainage
district,
and the director of agriculture other
members of the
drainage board as constituted under section 122. The chairperson
shall call a meeting of the drainage board within the time and in
the
manner prescribed in section 122. The persons so named shall
constitute
a drainage board and if such work is then determined to
be
If the drainage board
determines that the petition is
practicable,
they the drainage board may thereupon appoint a
competent
cause a survey of the drain
to be made by a licensed
professional
surveyor or engineer. to
make a survey of said drain,
and
lay out a drainage district according to section 104. After the
surveyor or engineer has filed all data with the drainage board,
the
director of agriculture chairperson
shall call a meeting as
provided
in section 122, and thereafter take all steps and perform
all
acts which are required to be done by said board the drainage
board shall proceed as provided under chapter 6 upon a petition for
the
location, establishment, and construction of drains as provided
in
sections 121 to 135. Such board and the commissioners shall
exercise
such power and be subject to such limitations as are
provided
in sections 121 to 135.a
drain.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.