The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us)


STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 5375

October 18, 1978

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ACT:

County road commission as a political subdivision

COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION:

Political subdivision of the state

WORDS AND PHRASES:

'Public entity'

A county road commission is not a form of local government or a political subdivision of the state.

A county road commission is a public entity.

A county road commission is required to apply for disaster assistance under the Emergency Preparedness Act through the county governing body which is the county board of commissioners.

Col. Gerald L. Hough

Director

Department of State Police

714 South Harrison Road

East Lansing, Michigan 48823

In your letter to me concerning the Emergency Preparedness Act, 1976 PA 390; MCLA 30.401, et seq; MSA 4.824(11), et seq (1) and CFR Title 24, Section 2205.2(n), you have asked the following questions:

1. Is the county road commission a form of local government or a political subdivision of the state?

2. Is the county road commission a public entity?

3. Is a county road commission required to apply for disaster assistance under the Emergency Preparedness Act through the county governing body?

Const 1963, art 7, Sec. 16, states in pertinent part:

'. . . The legislature . . . may provide for county road commissioners to be appointed or elected, with powers and duties provided by law.'

MCLA 224.9; MSA 9.109, states in part:

'The board of county road commissioners shall constitute and be a body corporate with the right of making and using a common seal and altering the same. . . . The board of county road commissioners shall act as an administrative board only and the function of the board shall be limited to the formation of policy and the performance of official duties imposed by law and delegated by the board of [commissioners (2) . . . shall appoint a competent superintendent, skilled in road building, who may or may not be an engineer who shall under the direction of the board, supervise all road building operations in the county. . . . Such board may also sell and convey any land or interest in any land held in the name of the said board, or any improvements located thereon, when such land, interest in land, or improvements located thereon, are not a part of any public street or highway, or park, or are not required to be used for any public street or highway, or park.' (Emphasis supplied)

Although the board has statutory power in other areas, none of these powers indicate that the board is a political subdivision.

In 1 OAG, 1957-1958, No 2897, p 86 (February 7, 1957), the Attorney General stated that county road commissioners do not constitute political subdivisions within the meaning of 1956 ex sess PA 9 which dealt with the Michigan Employment Security Act. The following language from that opinion at p 88, is relevant:

'They are component parts of political subdivisions, in the nature of separate establishments, i.e., the total of all of the component parts comprise the political subdivision.'

Also relevant is OAG, 1951-1952, No 1513, p 428, 429 (January 29, 1952), which states:

'A county road commission is a part of county government and not a distinct juristic entity. In this connection we do not overlook the fact that a county road commission is a body corporate.'

Therefore, in response to your first question, it is my opinion that a county road commission is neither a form of local government nor a political subdivision of the state.

In considering the second question, careful research has failed to reveal any authority directly on point. It will be noted, however, that the word 'entity' is a broad term and refers to a 'real being.' Black's Law Dictionary, Rev 4th Ed, Department of Banking v Hedges, 136 Neb 382; 286 NW 277, 281. Also, the term 'entity' may be defined as something that has real existence, a thing, a being which is distinct or self-contained. Since there is no doubt that the board of county road commissioners is a public body, it may be designated and considered as a 'public entity.' It is therefore my opinion that a county road commission is a public entity.

Concerning your third question, in view of the answers to the first two questions, it is my opinion that county road commissioners are required to apply for disaster assistance through the county governing body, the county board of commissioners.

Frank J. Kelley

Attorney General

(1) 1976 PA 390, Sec. 12(1) provides: 'If a disaster occurs in a county or municipality and is beyond the control of local public or private agencies, the chief executive officer of the municipality or the governing body of the county may request the governor to declare that a state of disaster exists therein, utilizing the procedure set forth in section 14. The director may order the disaster forces of a county or municipality to aid the community. The chief executive officer of the municipality or the governing body of the county shall comply with the order of the director and cooperate with the director in matters of emergency preparedness.'

(2) 1966 PA 261, Sec. 16; MCLA 46.416; MSA 5.359(16), states that 'all references to county supervisors or county boards of supervisors in any other act shall be deemed to mean county commissioners and county board of commissioners. . . .'