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JJR H06817'26_HB6045_INTR_1 ozr375
HOUSE BILL NO. 6045
A bill to amend 1909 PA 283, entitled
"An act to revise, consolidate, and add to the laws relating to the
establishment, opening, discontinuing, vacating, closing, altering,
improvement, maintenance, and use of the public highways and
private roads; the condemnation of property and gravel therefor;
the building, repairing and preservation of bridges; maintaining
public access to waterways under certain conditions; setting and
protecting shade trees, drainage, and cutting weeds and brush
within this state; providing for the election or appointment and
defining the powers, duties, and compensation of state, county,
township, and district highway officials; and to prescribe
penalties and provide remedies,"
by amending section 18 (MCL 224.18), as amended by 2000 PA 342.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
June 04, 2026, Introduced by Reps. Farhat, Schuette and Fairbairn and referred to Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.
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Sec. 18. (1) If state reward is to be applied for, the board 1
of county road commissioners shall file with the state 2
transportation commission, for its approval, a map of the county 3
showing the location of the proposed system of county roads. This 4
proposed system may be changed if approved by the state 5
transportation commission. All state rewarded roads composing a 6
part of this system shall be taken over as county roads by the 7
board of county road commissioners and any road or part of a road 8
previously laid out shall become a county road if the board of 9
county road commissioners shall at any time so determine, and in 10
passing through or on the line between townships or villages or 11
cities any streets or parts of streets may be adopted as a county 12
road, with the consent of the proper authorities of that city or 13
cities, village or villages. If a street is taken over and improved 14
as a county road, city and village authorities may further improve 15
the road by surfacing it outside the portion constructed by the 16
county and by the addition of gutters, curbs, sidewalks, and other 17
improvements, may provide for the care and maintenance of the 18
improvements, and may levy and collect taxes for the improvements. 19
The vote of the county road commissioners in respect to the 20
determination shall be taken by yeas and nays, and shall be entered 21
at large on the records of the board of county road commissioners. 22
Notice of the determination shall be immediately given by the clerk 23
to the highway authorities of each city or village in which the 24
road or any part of the road is situated, and published in a 25
newspaper of general circulation in the county, once in each week 26
for 3 successive weeks. Proof of service and publication may be 27
made by affidavit by any person knowing the facts and filed with 28
the clerk. The affidavit or the record thereof or certified copy of 29
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the affidavit or record shall be prima facie evidence of its 1
contents. After service and publication of the notice, the board of 2
county road commissioners shall have exclusive jurisdiction and 3
control of the road embraced within the determination, and the 4
municipality within which the road is situated shall be relieved 5
from all responsibility for the road. Immediately after laying out 6
or taking control of a road the board shall give the road a name. 7
The board may change the name of the road if it determines that a 8
name change is necessary in order to conform to a general plan or 9
avoid confusion or duplication. The name given by the board of 10
county road commissioners to any road under its jurisdiction , 11
either originally or in case of a change as provided for in this 12
section, is the official name by which the road shall be known. 13
(2) The A board also of county road commissioners may enter 14
into agreements with the board of county road commissioners in any 15
adjoining county with reference to the laying out, maintenance, 16
construction, and improvement of inter-county roads. The decision 17
of each board to become a party to an agreement is limited to the 18
construction, improvement, or maintenance of the portion of the 19
road subject to the jurisdiction of that board. 20
(3) The board of county road commissioners, of any county that 21
has adopted the county road system, at any time, may either 22
relinquish jurisdiction of or absolutely abandon and discontinue 23
any county road, or any part of a county road, on its own motion by 24
a resolution adopted by a majority vote. The vote of the county 25
road commissioners in respect to either relinquishment of 26
jurisdiction or absolute abandonment and discontinuance shall be 27
taken and entered, and notice given, in the same manner as required 28
in this section in cases in which county roads are adopted. After 29
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proceedings to relinquish jurisdiction have been had, the 1
jurisdiction and control of the road, or part of the road, except 2
as otherwise provided in this section, shall revert to the 3
municipality within which the road is situated, and the county 4
shall be relieved of the responsibility for the road. After 5
proceedings to abandon absolutely and discontinue, the road or part 6
of the road shall cease to exist as a public highway unless the 7
unit of government that acquires the property or control of the 8
property permits use as a public highway. Subject to subsection 9
(8), the board, at the time of the passage of a resolution to 10
abandon absolutely and discontinue any portion of a highway under 11
its jurisdiction, shall determine in the resolution that it is in 12
the best interests of the public that the highway or portion of the 13
highway be absolutely abandoned and discontinued. The board shall 14
cause a true copy of every resolution or other proceeding 15
containing an accurate description of the lands comprising the 16
highway or portion of the highway that has been absolutely 17
abandoned and discontinued to be recorded in the office of the 18
register of deeds for the county where the lands are situated. 19
Before voting on the motion, the board must provide notice in the 20
form and manner described in subsections (6) and (7) and must hold 21
a public hearing not more than 30 days after serving the notice. 22
(4) The board of county road commissioners shall not may 23
absolutely abandon and discontinue any highway, or part of a 24
highway, except as provided in this section, upon either the 25
written petition of 7 or more freeholders of the township 26
municipality in which the road is sought to be absolutely abandoned 27
and discontinued. or portion of the road to be abandoned is 28
situated, or the written petition of all the owners of record and 29
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occupants of land abutting the road or portion of road to be 1
abandoned. The petition for absolutely abandoning and discontinuing 2
a highway shall must describe the road in general terms or by any 3
name by which it is known, and if the absolute abandonment and 4
discontinuance of only a portion of a road is asked for, that 5
portion shall must be specified. The petition shall must be 6
accompanied by a true and correct list of the names and mailing 7
addresses of the owners and occupants of each parcel of land 8
abutting the highway, or portion of the highway, sought to be 9
absolutely abandoned and discontinued, which list shall be 10
certified to under oath by 1 of the persons making or presenting 11
the petition. 12
(5) If a petition for absolute abandonment and discontinuance 13
of a road or portion of a road complies with subsection (4) and 14
contains the signatures of all of the owners of record and 15
occupants of land abutting the road or portion of the road, as 16
ascertained from the records in the office of the register of deeds 17
and the certified list provided for in subsection (4), the board of 18
county road commissioners shall, within 20 30 days after receiving 19
the petition, subject to subsection (8), determine the advisability 20
of the abandonment and discontinuance and either grant or deny the 21
petition without further proceedings. This subsection does not 22
apply to a road or portion of a road described in subsection (7). 23
(6) In all other cases the board shall, within 20 30 days 24
after receiving a petition, issue a written notice stating the 25
object of the petition and appointing a time and place of hearing. 26
, which notice shall The written notice must be served on the 27
township board of the township municipality in which the road is 28
situated and on the owners of record and occupants of lands through 29
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or adjoining which it is proposed to absolutely abandon and 1
discontinue adjacent to the road or portion of the road, by mailing 2
a copy of the notice by first-class mail to the township board of 3
the township municipality in which the road or portion of the road 4
is situated and to the residence of each owner of record or 5
occupant at his or her the owner or occupant's last known address 6
at least 30 days before the time of hearing. The township board of 7
the township in which the road is situated shall have first 8
priority to retain the property or portion of the property. The 9
board shall also notify the township or municipality within which 10
the road is situated, the state transportation department, and the 11
department of natural resources if the action concerns any county 12
road or portion of a county road that borders on, crosses, is 13
adjacent to, or ends at a lake or the general course of a stream 14
and the proposed action would result in the loss of public access. 15
If the owner does not reside upon the land or the owner of record 16
or occupant cannot be found within the county in which the land is 17
situated, the notice to the owner of record or occupant of the land 18
shall must be served by posting in 3 public places in the township 19
municipality in which the road is situated, and by publication in a 20
newspaper circulated within the county, 30 days before the time of 21
hearing. Notice shall must be served upon on railroad companies by 22
leaving a copy with the agent in charge of any ticket or freight 23
office of the company operating the railroad, on the railroad line. 24
(7) If an action under subsections (3) to (6) concerns any 25
county road or portion of a county road that borders on, crosses, 26
is adjacent to, or ends at a lake or the general course of a stream 27
and the road or portion of road to be abandoned provides public 28
access to the lake or stream, the board shall proceed as described 29
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in subsection (6) and shall additionally notify the department of 1
natural resources. The municipality and the department of natural 2
resources and the township or municipality within which the road is 3
situated shall review the petition and determine within 30 days 4
whether the property should be retained as an ingress and egress 5
point to the lake or stream. If the road is situated in a township, 6
the township shall have first priority and the department of 7
natural resources shall have second priority to retain the property 8
as an ingress and egress point. If the road is not situated in a 9
township, the department of natural resources shall have first 10
priority to retain the property as an ingress and egress point.The 11
municipality in which the road or segment of road is situated shall 12
have first priority, and the department of natural resources shall 13
have second priority, to retain the property as an ingress and 14
egress point to the lake or stream. 15
(8) (6) Upon the service of the notice required in subsection 16
(5), subsections (3) to (6), and before any further proceedings are 17
held, the person by whom the service was made shall make and annex 18
to the notice, or a copy of the notice, an affidavit stating the 19
time and manner of service. , which shall be by first-class mail, 20
and by posting and advertising. In addition, if service is upon on 21
a railroad company, the affidavit shall so must state that service 22
was made on a railroad company and shall specify the agent upon on 23
whom service was made. The notice and affidavit, together with an 24
affidavit of publication if the notice was required to be 25
published, shall must be attached to the petition, and the whole 26
shall must be present at the time of the hearing upon the petition 27
and at any meeting in which a vote to approve or reject the 28
abandonment is held. 29
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(9) The board of county road commissioners may designate, as 1
hearing examiner, an employee to hold the any hearing upon the 2
petition. required by this section. After the hearing, the examiner 3
shall report all findings of fact to the board. 4
(10) (7) The board of county road commissioners or the 5
superintendent or engineer employed by the board shall proceed to 6
view the premises described in the petition and notice, and road or 7
portion of road proposed to be abandoned. After viewing the road or 8
portion of road and holding any hearing required by this section, 9
the board shall ascertain the necessity or advisability of 10
absolutely abandoning and discontinuing the highway pursuant to the 11
petition.and shall enter a written resolution accordingly. 12
(8) Subject to subsection (5), if the board of county road 13
commissioners determines pursuant to this section to relinquish 14
control, discontinue, abandon, or vacate any county road or portion 15
of a county road that borders on, crosses, is adjacent to, or ends 16
at a lake or the general course of a stream and the township, if 17
applicable, or the department of natural resources decides to 18
maintain the road as a public access site, it shall convey by 19
quitclaim deed or relinquish jurisdiction over the property if the 20
interest is nontransferable to the township or the state. 21
(11) If an abandonment not subject to subsection (7) is 22
approved by the board of county road commissioners, the board's 23
interest shall be transferred to the municipality in which the road 24
or portion of road is situated. The municipality shall then 25
determine whether the road or portion of road will remain as a 26
highway or revert to the adjacent property owners. 27
(12) If an abandonment subject to subsection (7) is approved, 28
the board's interest must be transferred to either the municipality 29
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or the department of natural resources, as directed in subsection 1
(7). If the township municipality obtains the property or 2
jurisdiction over the property as an ingress and egress point to 3
the lake or stream and later proposes to transfer the property or 4
jurisdiction over the property, it the municipality shall give the 5
department of natural resources first priority to obtain the 6
property or jurisdiction over the property. If the state obtains 7
the property or jurisdiction over the property under this 8
subsection, the property shall must be under the jurisdiction of 9
the department of natural resources. The state may retain title to 10
the property, transfer title to a local unit of government in which 11
the property is located, or deed the property to the adjacent 12
property owners. If the state has purchased the property with 13
restricted fund revenue, money obtained from sale of the property 14
shall must be returned to that restricted fund. The If transferred 15
from the state, the local unit of government shall either maintain 16
the property as a site of public access site or allow it the 17
property to revert to the adjoining landowners. 18
(9) Subject to subsection (5), if the board of county road 19
commissioners determines pursuant to this section to abandon any 20
county road or portion of a county road to a township, it shall 21
quitclaim deed the property if the interest is nontransferable to 22
the township. The township shall either retain the property or 23
allow it to revert to the adjoining landowners. 24
(13) A board of county road commissioners, when passing a 25
resolution to absolutely abandon and discontinue any portion of a 26
highway under its jurisdiction, shall determine in the resolution 27
that it is in the best interests of the public that the highway or 28
portion of the highway be absolutely abandoned and discontinued. 29
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The board shall cause a true copy of every resolution or other 1
proceeding containing an accurate description of the lands 2
comprising the highway or portion of the highway that has been 3
absolutely abandoned and discontinued to be recorded in the office 4
of the register of deeds for the county where the lands are 5
situated. 6
(14) (10) Within 30 days after final determination upon on the 7
petition for absolutely abandoning and discontinuing a highway, the 8
board of county road commissioners shall file with the state 9
transportation commission department a full record and return of 10
its proceedings. A determination by the board of county road 11
commissioners under this section is binding for purposes of 1927 PA 12
341, MCL 247.41 to 247.46. 13
(15) (11) The board of county road commissioners may reserve 14
an easement for public utility purposes within the right-of-way of 15
any road absolutely abandoned and discontinued under this section 16
and may, by resolution, extinguish any easement so reserved 17
whenever the easement ceases to be used for public utility 18
purposes. 19
(16) (12) If interest in the property is conveyed or control 20
over the property is relinquished to a local unit or this state 21
under subsection (8), (11), the local unit or this state, as 22
applicable, shall operate and maintain the property so as to 23
prevent and eliminate garbage and litter accumulation, unsanitary 24
conditions, undue noise, and congestion as necessary. 25
(17) (13) If a person shows substantial noncompliance with the 26
requirements of subsection (12), (16), the circuit court may order 27
the local unit or this state to close the road ending in a manner 28
to prevent ingress and egress to the body of water for a period of 29
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up to 30 days. 1
(18) (14) If a person shows substantial noncompliance with the 2
requirements of subsection (12) (16) and the circuit court has 3
previously closed the road ending for up to 30 days under 4
subsection (13), (17), the circuit court may order the local unit 5
or this state to close the road ending in a manner to prevent 6
ingress and egress to the body of water for 90 days. 7
(19) (15) If a person shows substantial noncompliance with the 8
requirements of subsection (12) (16) and the circuit court has 9
previously closed the road ending for 90 days under subsection 10
(14), (18), the circuit court may order the local unit or this 11
state to close the road ending in a manner to prevent ingress and 12
egress to the body of water for 180 days. 13
(20) (16) If a person shows substantial noncompliance with the 14
requirements of subsection (12) (16) and the circuit court has 15
previously closed the road ending for 180 days under subsection 16
(15), (19), the circuit court shall order the local unit or this 17
state to show cause why the road ending should not be permanently 18
closed in a manner to prevent ingress and egress to the body of 19
water. Subject to subsection (17), (21), the circuit court shall 20
permanently close the road ending unless the local unit or this 21
state shows cause why the road ending should not be closed. 22
(21) (17) After a road ending is closed under subsection (16), 23
(20), and unless the property has been conveyed or relinquished to 24
the adjacent landowners under subsection (18), (22), the local unit 25
or this state may petition the circuit court to reopen the road 26
ending. The circuit court may order the road ending reopened if the 27
local unit or this state presents a management plan to and posts a 28
performance bond with the circuit court, and the circuit court 29
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finds that the management plan and performance bond are adequate to 1
ensure compliance with subsection (12).(16). 2
(22) (18) After a road ending is closed by the circuit court 3
under subsection (16), (20), 1 or more of the adjacent landowners 4
may petition the circuit court to order the local unit or this 5
state to convey any interest in the property that the local unit or 6
this state holds to the adjacent landowners, or, if the interest is 7
nontransferable, to relinquish control over the property to the 8
adjacent landowners. 9
(23) (19) Proceedings under subsection (13), (14), (15), or 10
(16) (17), (18), (19), or (20) shall be initiated by application of 11
7 owners of record title of land in the local unit who own land 12
within 1 mile of the road ending to the circuit court for the 13
county in which the road ending is located. The applicants in the 14
proceedings under subsection (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), or (18) 15
(17), (18), (19), (20), (21), or (22) shall give the persons 16
described in subsection (5) subsections (6) and (7) notice of the 17
application by registered mail. 18