HB 6050

HOUSE BILL NO. 6050
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
2013 PA 173, and by adding section 7d.
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, act, 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
and human services 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) The immunity
provided by this act does not apply to liability of a governmental agency under
the MISS DIG underground facility damage prevention and safety act, 2013 PA 174, MCL 460.721 to 460.733.
(8) As used in this
section:
(a) "Gross
negligence" means conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack
of concern for whether an injury results.
(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.
(c) "Search
and rescue operation medical assistant" means an individual licensed to
practice 1 or more of the occupations listed in subdivision (e), acting within
the scope of the license, and assisting a governmental agency in a search and
rescue operation.
(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.
(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.
Sec. 7d. (1) Subject
to subsection (2), a public university or college or a school district is not
immune under this act from tort liability for criminal sexual conduct that an
employee or agent of the public university or college or school district
engages in during the course of employment or service or while acting on behalf
of the public university or college or school district if either of the
following applies:
(a) The public university or college or school district was negligent in
the hiring, supervision, or training of the employee or agent.
(b) The public university or college or school district had actual or
constructive knowledge of the criminal sexual conduct and failed to report the
criminal sexual conduct to an appropriate law enforcement agency.
(2) A public university or college or school district may be held liable
for the criminal sexual conduct of an employee or agent committed during the
course of employment or service or while acting on behalf of the public
university or college or school district only if both of the following apply:
(a) The public university or college or school district had either of
the following:
(i) Actual or
constructive knowledge that the individual committed a prior act of criminal
sexual conduct.
(ii) Actual or
constructive knowledge of the member, officer, employee, or agent's propensity
to act in accordance with a prior act of criminal sexual conduct.
(b) The public university or college or school district failed to act or
intervene to prevent the subsequent criminal sexual conduct.
(3) Nothing in this, any previous, or any subsequent act limits the
availability of causes of action permitted to a plaintiff, including causes of
action against persons other than the individual alleged to have committed the
criminal sexual conduct.
(4) For purposes of this section, it is not necessary for a criminal
prosecution or other proceeding to have been brought as a result of the
criminal sexual conduct or if a criminal prosecution or other proceeding has
been brought, for the prosecution or proceeding to have resulted in a
conviction or adjudication.
(5) This section applies retroactively to an action commenced under section
5851b(4) of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.5851b.
(6) As used in this section only:
(a) "Adjudication" means an adjudication of 1 or more offenses
under chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.1 to
712A.32.
(b) "Criminal sexual conduct" means conduct prohibited under
section 520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, or 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA
328, MCL 750.520b, 750.520c, 750.520d, 750.520e, and 750.520g.
(c) "School district" includes both of the following:
(i) An intermediate
school district as that term is defined in section 4 of the revised school
code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.4.
(ii) A public school
academy as that term is defined in section 5 of the revised school code, 1976
PA 451, MCL 380.5.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take
effect unless Senate Bill No. 257 of the 103rd Legislature is enacted into law.