HB-4858, As Passed Senate, October 6, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR

 

HOUSE BILL NO. 4858

 

(As amended, October 5, 2005)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     <<A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

 

"Michigan vehicle code,"

 

by amending sections 683, 723, 724, 806 and 819a (MCL 257.683, 257.723,

 

257.724, 257.806, and 257.819a), section 683 as amended by 2000 PA 97,

 

sections 723 and 806 as amended and section 819a as added by 2003 PA 152,

 

and section 724 as amended by 2004 PA 420, and by adding section

 

312g; and to repeal acts and parts of acts. >>

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 312g. A person shall not transport or require, permit, or

<<knowingly>>

 

allow to be transported a hazardous material for which a placard is

 

required under 49 CFR parts 100 to 199 in a commercial motor

 

vehicle if the operator of the vehicle does not have a hazardous

 

material endorsement on his or her operator's or chauffeur's

 

license. A person who violates this section is guilty of a

 


misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or

 

a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

 

     Sec. 683. (1) A person shall not drive or move or the owner

 

shall not cause or knowingly permit to be driven or moved on a

 

highway a vehicle or combination of vehicles  which  that is in

 

such an unsafe condition as to endanger a person, or  which  that

 

does not contain those parts or is not at all times equipped with

 

lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as

 

required in sections 683 to  714a  711, or  which  that is equipped

 

in a manner in violation of sections 683 to  714a  711. A person

 

shall not do an act forbidden or fail to perform an act required

 

under sections 683 to  714a  711.

 

     (2) A police officer on reasonable grounds shown may stop a

 

motor vehicle and inspect the motor vehicle, and if a defect in

 

equipment is found, the officer may issue the driver a citation for

 

a violation of a provision of sections 683 to  714a  711.

 

     (3) In order to be classified as a motor carrier enforcement

 

officer, a police officer must have training equal to the minimum

 

training requirements, including any annual training updates,

 

established by the department of state police for an officer of the

 

motor carrier division of the department of state police. A police

 

officer who has received training equal to these minimum training

 

requirements before the effective date of this section is

 

considered a motor carrier enforcement officer for purposes of this

 

act.

 

     (4) Sections 683 to  714a  711 shall not prohibit the use of

 

additional parts and accessories on a vehicle  which  that are not

 


inconsistent with those sections.

 

     (5) The provisions of sections 683 to  714a  711 with respect

 

to equipment on vehicles shall not apply to implements of

 

husbandry, road machinery, road rollers, or farm tractors, except

 

as specifically provided in sections 683 to  714a  711.

 

     (6) Except as otherwise provided in section 698 or 707d, a

 

person who violates a provision of sections 683 to  714a  711 with

 

respect to equipment on vehicles is responsible for a civil

 

infraction.

 

     Sec. 723. (1) All  motor trucks or truck tractors, except as

 

provided in subsection (4),  commercial vehicles with a single or

 

combination gross weight rating or total gross weight of more than

 

5,000 pounds  registered weight  and all towing or platform bed

 

wrecker road service vehicles in operation upon the public highways

 

of this state shall have the name, city, and state or the

 

registered logo or emblem of the registered owner of the vehicle,

 

and lessee of the vehicle if the vehicle is being operated under

 

lease, painted or permanently attached on each side of the  cab on

 

a motor truck or truck tractor  vehicle in letters of not less than

 

3 inches in height, not lower than the bottom edge of the door.  ,  

 

except that motor trucks with closed van bodies may place the

 

information on each side of the van body not lower than the bottom

 

edge of the cab door.  This information shall be in sharp color

 

contrast to the background.

 

     (2) Except for towing or platform bed wrecker road service

 

vehicles, the identification requirements of subsection (1) may be

 

met through the use of removable devices which meet the

 


requirements of subsection (1). These devices shall be of durable

 

construction and securely attached to each side of the motor truck

 

or truck tractor. The removable devices shall be attached so that

 

the identification is in a horizontal position.

 

     (3)  Motor vehicles subject to this section shall have 2 years

 

after the effective date of this subsection to be in compliance

 

with the marking location as required in subsection (1).  A vehicle

 

in compliance with the identification requirements of the federal

 

motor carrier safety regulations, 49 CFR parts 390-399, is

 

considered to be in compliance with this section.

 

     (4) This section  shall  does not apply to a truck eligible

 

for and registered under a farm or manufacturer license plate, that

 

has a gross vehicle weight of less than 10,000 pounds.

 

     (5) A person who violates this section is responsible for a

 

civil infraction.

 

     Sec. 724. (1) A police officer, a peace officer, or  a duly  

 

an authorized agent of the state transportation department or a

 

county road commission having reason to believe that the weight of

 

a vehicle and load is unlawful may require the driver to stop and

 

submit to a weighing of the vehicle by either portable or

 

stationary scales approved and sealed by the department of

 

agriculture as a legal weighing device  ,  and may require that the

 

vehicle be driven to the nearest  weighing  weigh station of the

 

state transportation department for the purpose of allowing  an  a

 

police officer, peace officer, or agent of the state transportation

 

department or county road commission to determine whether the  

 

conveyance  vehicle is loaded in conformity with this chapter.

 


     (2) When the officer or agent, upon weighing a vehicle and

 

load, determines that the weight is unlawful, the officer or agent

 

may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and

 

remain standing until that portion of the load is shifted or

 

removed as necessary to reduce the gross axle load weight of the

 

vehicle to the limit permitted under this chapter. All material

 

unloaded as provided under this subsection shall be cared for by

 

the owner or operator of the vehicle at the risk of the owner or

 

operator. A judge or magistrate imposing a civil fine and costs

 

under this section  which  that are not paid in full immediately or

 

for which a bond is not immediately posted in double the amount of

 

the civil fine and costs shall order the driver or owner to move

 

the vehicle at the driver's own risk to a place of safekeeping

 

within the jurisdiction of the judge or magistrate, inform the

 

judge or magistrate in writing of the place of safekeeping, and

 

keep the vehicle until the fine and costs are paid or sufficient

 

bond is furnished or until the judge or magistrate is satisfied

 

that the fine and costs will be paid. The officer or agent who has

 

determined, after weighing a vehicle and load, that the weight is

 

unlawful, may require the driver to proceed to a judge or

 

magistrate within the county. If the judge or magistrate is

 

satisfied that the probable civil fine and costs will be paid by

 

the owner or lessee, the judge or magistrate may allow the driver

 

to proceed, after the load is made legal. If the judge or

 

magistrate is not satisfied that the owner or lessee, after a

 

notice and a right to be heard on the merits is given, will pay the

 

amount of the probable civil fine and costs, the judge or

 


magistrate may order the vehicle to be impounded until trial on the

 

merits is completed under conditions set forth in this section for

 

the impounding of vehicles after the civil fine and costs have been

 

imposed. Removal of the vehicle, and forwarding, care, or

 

preservation of the load shall be under the control of and at the

 

risk of the owner or driver. Vehicles impounded shall be subject to

 

a lien, subject to a prior valid bona fide lien of prior record, in

 

the amount of the civil fine and costs and if the civil fine and

 

costs are not paid within 90 days after the seizure, the judge or

 

magistrate shall certify the unpaid judgment to the prosecuting

 

attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, who shall

 

proceed to enforce the lien by foreclosure sale in accordance with

 

procedure authorized in the case of chattel mortgage foreclosures.

 

When the duly authorized agent of the state transportation

 

department or county road commission is performing duties under

 

this chapter, the agent  shall have  has all the powers conferred

 

upon peace officers by the general laws of this state.

 

     (3) Subject to subsection (4), an owner of a vehicle or a

 

lessee of the vehicle of an owner-operator, or other person, who

 

causes or allows a vehicle to be loaded and driven or moved on a

 

highway, when the weight of that vehicle violates section 722 is

 

responsible for a civil infraction and shall pay a civil fine in an

 

amount equal to 3 cents per pound for each pound of excess load

 

over 1,000 pounds when the excess is 2,000 pounds or less; 6 cents

 

per pound of excess load when the excess is over 2,000 pounds but

 

not over 3,000 pounds; 9 cents per pound for each pound of excess

 

load when the excess is over 3,000 pounds but not over 4,000

 


pounds; 12 cents per pound for each pound of excess load when the

 

excess is over 4,000 pounds but not over 5,000 pounds; 15 cents per

 

pound for each pound of excess load when the excess is over 5,000

 

pounds but not over 10,000 pounds; and 20 cents per pound for each

 

pound of excess load when the excess is over 10,000 pounds.

 

     (4)  If  Beginning January 1, 2006, if the court determines

 

that the motor vehicle or the combination of vehicles was operated

 

in violation of this section, the court shall impose a fine as

 

follows:

 

     (a) If the court determines that the motor vehicle or the

 

combination of vehicles was operated in such a manner that the

 

gross weight of the vehicle or the combination of vehicles would

 

not be lawful by a proper distribution of the load upon all the

 

axles of the vehicle or the combination of vehicles, the court

 

shall impose a fine for the violation according to the schedule

 

provided for in subsection (3).

 

     (b) If the court determines that the motor vehicle or the

 

combination of vehicles would be lawful by a proper distribution of

 

the load upon all of the axles of the vehicle or the combination of

 

vehicles, but that 1 or more axles of the vehicle exceeded the

 

maximum allowable axle weight by 4,000 pounds or less, the court

 

shall impose a misload fine of $200.00 per axle. Not more than 3

 

axles shall be used in calculating the fine to be imposed under

 

this subdivision. This subdivision does not apply to a vehicle

 

subject to the maximum loading provisions of section 722(11) or to

 

a vehicle found to be in violation of a special permit issued under

 

section 725.

 


     (c) If the court determines that the motor vehicle or the

 

combination of vehicles would be lawful by a proper distribution of

 

the load upon all of the axles of the vehicle or the combination of

 

vehicles, but that 1 or more axles of the vehicle exceeded the

 

maximum allowable axle weight by more than 4,000 pounds, the court

 

shall impose a fine for the violation according to the schedule

 

provided  for  in subsection (3).

 

     (5) A driver or owner of a commercial vehicle with other

 

vehicles or trailers in combination, a truck or truck tractor, a

 

truck or truck tractor with other vehicles in combination, or any

 

special mobile equipment who  knowingly  fails to stop at or  who

 

knowingly  bypasses any scales or weighing station is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor.

 

     (6) An agent or authorized representative of the state

 

transportation department or a county road commission shall not

 

stop a truck or vehicle in movement upon a road or highway within

 

the state for any purpose, unless the agent or authorized

 

representative is driving a duly marked vehicle, clearly showing

 

and denoting the branch of government represented.

 

     (7) A driver or owner of a vehicle who knowingly fails to stop

 

when requested or ordered to do so and submit to a weighing by a

 

police officer, a peace officer, or  a duly  an authorized agent of

 

the state transportation department, or a representative or agent

 

of a county road commission, authorized to require the driver to

 

stop and submit to a weighing of the vehicle and load by means of a

 

portable scale, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by

 

imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than

 


House Bill No. 4858 as amended October 5, 2005                 (1 of 2)

 

$100.00, or both. A driver or person who dumps his or her load when

 

ordered to submit to a weigh or who otherwise attempts to commit or

 

commits an act to avoid a vehicle weigh is in violation of this

 

section.

     <<Sec. 806. (1) Until October 1, 2009, a fee of $10.00 shall accompany each application for a certificate of title required by this act or for a duplicate of a certificate of title. An additional fee of $5.00 shall accompany an application if the applicant requests that the application be given special expeditious treatment. A $3.00 service fee shall be collected, in addition to the other fees collected under this subsection, for each title issued. The $5.00 expeditious treatment fee collected on and after October 1, 2004 through September 30,  2005  2006 shall be deposited into the transportation administration collection fund created under section 810b. The $5.00 expeditious treatment fee collected on and after October 1,  2005  2006 shall be deposited into the Michigan transportation fund established under section 10 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.660. The $3.00 service fee shall be deposited into the transportation administration collection fund created under section 810b.

     (2) A fee of $10.00 shall accompany an application for a special identifying number as provided in section 230.

     (3) In addition to paying the fees required by subsection (1), until December 31, 2007, each person who applies for a certificate of title, a salvage vehicle certificate of title, or a scrap certificate of title, under this act shall pay a tire disposal surcharge of $1.50 for each certificate of title or duplicate of a certificate of title that person receives. The secretary of state shall deposit money received under this subsection into the scrap tire regulatory fund created in section 16908 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.16908.>>

     Sec. 819a. (1) The traffic law enforcement and safety fund is

 

created within the state treasury.

 

     (2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from

 

any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall

 

direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit

 

to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.

 

     (3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall

 

remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.

 

     (4)  Beginning October 1, 2004, of the funds deposited to the

 

fund as described in subsection (2), $1,800,000.00 shall annually

 

be transferred  The director of the department of state police may

 

transfer any amount in the fund to the trooper recruit school fund

 

created under section 819b.

 

House Bill No. 4858 as amended October 5, 2005

 

     (5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), the

 

department of state police shall expend money from the fund, upon

 

appropriation, only for 1 or more of the following purposes:

 

     (a) To enhance enforcement of traffic laws.

 

     (b) To enhance the ability to provide safety on the streets

 

and highways of this state.

 

     Enacting section 1. Sections 714a and 714b of the Michigan

 

vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.714a and 257.714b, are repealed.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 93rd Legislature are

 


enacted into law:

 

     (a) House Bill No. 4852.

 

     (b) House Bill No. 4857.