PARKING & MOVING VIOLATIONS - H.B. 5624 (H-2): COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 5624 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Joanne Voorhees
House Committee: Family and Civil Law
Senate Committee: Transportation and Tourism
Date Completed: 6-1-00
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to do the following:
-- Prohibit parking in a place or in a manner that would block access to a space clearly designated as a fire lane, and allow volunteers other than police officers to issue citations for violations of that prohibition.
-- Provide that a law enforcement agency of a local unit of government could not administer a volunteer parking enforcement program without the local unit's authorization.
-- Revise provisions under which courts must levy a highway safety assessment and a secondary road patrol and training assessment for nonmoving violations.
The amendment concerning assessments would take effect upon the bill's enactment. The remainder of the bill would take effect on October 1, 2000.
Parking Violations
The Code describes places and ways in which a vehicle may not be parked, except if necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the law or the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device. The bill also would prohibit parking in a place or in a manner that blocked access to a space clearly designated as a fire lane.
Under the Code, a law enforcement agency or a local unit of government may implement and administer a program to authorize and use individuals other than police officers as volunteers to issue citations for violations of the Code's disabled parking provisions. The bill would extend this to violations of the proposed prohibition against parking in a place or in a manner that would block access to a space clearly designated as a fire lane.
The bill also specifies that a law enforcement agency of a local unit of government could not implement or administer such a program without the specific authorization of the governing body of that local unit.
(As used in these provisions, "local unit of government" means a State university or college, county, city, village, or township.)
Assessments
Currently, in addition to any fine or cost ordered to be paid under the Code, the judge, district or municipal court referee, or district or municipal court magistrate must levy a highway safety assessment of $5 and a secondary road patrol and training assessment of $5 for each civil infraction determination for a moving violation. The bill would delete reference to a moving violation, and require these assessments to be levied for each civil infraction determination except for a parking violation or a violation for which the total fine and costs imposed were $10 or less.
MCL 257.629e et al. - Legislative Analyst: S. Lowe
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would result in an indeterminate increase in the number of parking citations issued. No information is currently available regarding the fiscal impact of the provision that would exclude certain violations from the secondary road patrol assessment and the highway safety assessment.
- Fiscal Analyst: B. BowermanS9900\s5624sa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.