Bill Text: MI SB0039 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Torts; governmental immunity; liability of a peace officer for injuries caused while rendering assistance outside jurisdiction; provide immunity. Amends sec. 7 of 1964 PA 170 (MCL 691.1407).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-11-30 - Referred To Second Reading [SB0039 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-SB0039-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 39
January 27, 2009, Introduced by Senators BASHAM and CHERRY and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1964 PA 170, entitled
"An act to make uniform the liability of municipal corporations,
political subdivisions, and the state, its agencies and
departments, officers, employees, and volunteers thereof, and
members of certain boards, councils, and task forces when engaged
in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function, for
injuries to property and persons; to define and limit this
liability; to define and limit the liability of the state when
engaged in a proprietary function; to authorize the purchase of
liability insurance to protect against loss arising out of this
liability; to provide for defending certain claims made against
public officers, employees, and volunteers and for paying damages
sought or awarded against them; to provide for the legal defense of
public officers, employees, and volunteers; to provide for
reimbursement of public officers and employees for certain legal
expenses; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
by amending section 7 (MCL 691.1407), as amended by 2005 PA 318.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 7. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, a
governmental agency is immune from tort liability if the
governmental agency is engaged in the exercise or discharge of a
governmental function. Except as otherwise provided in this act,
this act does not modify or restrict the immunity of the state from
tort liability as it existed before July 1, 1965, which immunity is
affirmed.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, and without
regard to the discretionary or ministerial nature of the conduct in
question, each officer and employee of a governmental agency, each
volunteer acting on behalf of a governmental agency, and each
member of a board, council, commission, or statutorily created task
force of a governmental agency is immune from tort liability for an
injury to a person or damage to property caused by the officer,
employee, or member while in the course of employment or service or
caused by the volunteer while acting on behalf of a governmental
agency if all of the following are met:
(a) The officer, employee, member, or volunteer is acting or
reasonably believes he or she is acting within the scope of his or
her authority.
(b) The governmental agency is engaged in the exercise or
discharge of a governmental function.
(c) The officer's, employee's, member's, or volunteer's
conduct does not amount to gross negligence that is the proximate
cause of the injury or damage.
(3) Subsection (2) does not alter the law of intentional torts
as it existed before July 7, 1986.
(4) This act does not grant immunity to a governmental agency
or an employee or agent of a governmental agency with respect to
providing medical care or treatment to a patient, except medical
care or treatment provided to a patient in a hospital owned or
operated by the department of community health or a hospital owned
or operated by the department of corrections and except care or
treatment provided by an uncompensated search and rescue operation
medical assistant or tactical operation medical assistant.
(5) A judge, a legislator, and the elective or highest
appointive executive official of all levels of government are
immune from tort liability for injuries to persons or damages to
property if he or she is acting within the scope of his or her
judicial, legislative, or executive authority.
(6) A guardian ad litem is immune from civil liability for an
injury to a person or damage to property if he or she is acting
within the scope of his or her authority as guardian ad litem. This
subsection applies to actions filed before, on, or after May 1,
1996.
(7) As used in this section:
(a) "Course of employment or service" includes, if the officer
or employee is a peace officer, coming to the aid of an individual
who is threatened with injury or death while the officer is outside
the geographical boundaries of the county, city, village, township,
or university that employs the officer.
(b) (a)
"Gross negligence" means conduct so reckless as to
demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury
results.
(c) (b)
"Search and rescue operation" means an action by a
governmental agency to search for, rescue, or recover victims of a
natural or manmade disaster, accident, or emergency on land or
water.
(d) (c)
"Search and rescue operation medical assistant" means
an individual licensed to practice 1 or more of the occupations
listed
in subdivision (e) (f), acting within the scope of the
license, and assisting a governmental agency in a search and rescue
operation.
(e) (d)
"Tactical operation" means a coordinated, planned
action by a special operations, weapons, or response team of a law
enforcement agency that is 1 of the following:
(i) Taken to deal with imminent violence, a riot, an act of
terrorism, or a similar civic emergency.
(ii) The entry into a building, area, watercraft, aircraft,
land vehicle, or body of water to seize evidence, or to arrest an
individual for a felony, under the authority of a warrant issued by
a court.
(iii) Training for the team.
(f) (e)
"Tactical operation medical assistant" means an
individual licensed to practice 1 or more of the following, acting
within the scope of the license, and assisting law enforcement
officers while they are engaged in a tactical operation:
(i) Medicine, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or as a
registered professional nurse, under article 15 of the public
health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.16101 to 333.18838.
(ii) As an emergency medical technician, emergency medical
technician specialist, or paramedic under part 209 of the public
health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20901 to 333.20979.
