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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. 5795

October 8, 1980

TRANSPORTATION:

Interest on payment of snow removal monies

A county road commission is not entitled to receive interest on snow removal appropriations due during the period between November 2 and the date the snow removal appropriations are received.

Honorable D. J. Jacobetti

Michigan State Representative

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan 48909

You have requested my opinion whether county road commissions may collect interest on snow removal monies due them on November 2 of each year from that date until the date they receive payment from the state.

1951 PA 51, Sec. 12, as last amended by 1979 PA 58, MCLA 247.662(3); MCLA 247.662; MSA 9.1097(12), in pertinent part, provides:

'(3) An amount equal to 1% of the total amount returned to the county road commissions from the Michigan transportation fund during the prior calendar year shall be withheld annually from the counties' second quarterly distribution provided for in Section 17, and the amount shall be returned to the county road commissions for snow removal purposes as provided in Section 12a.'

In 1951 PA 51, Sec. 12a (1) and (5), as last amended by 1979 PA 58; MCLA 247.662a; MSA 9.1097(12a), the Legislature has provided as follows:

'(1) The amount withheld from the counties' second quarterly distribution as specified in Section 12(3) shall be returned to the county road commission of each county for snow removal purposes, including the purchase and maintenance of equipment for snow removal and shall be distributed among the counties on the basis of measured snowfall in excess of 80 inches during the prior fiscal year as determined from measurements of the United States weather bureau at its official stations.

(5) Before October 2 of each year, the state transportation department shall certify the Department of Management and Budget its determination of the amount to which each county is entitled from the distribution authorized by this section. Before November 2 of each year the Department of Management and Budget shall cause to be paid to the county treasurer of each county entitled to money for snow removal purposes the total amount to be returned to the county for snow removal purposes under this section and the amount returned shall be deposited to the credit of the county road fund.'

A fundamental rule of statutory construction is that in determining the meaning of a statute, the primary duty is to ascertain the intention of the Legislature. Crawford v School District No. 6, 342 Mich 564; 70 NW2d 789 (1955). The Legislature's intention must be ascertained from the statute itself. People v Powell, 280 Mich 699; 274 NW 372 (1937). Also, all provisions of a statute must be considered in determining legislative intent. School District No. 3, Mt. Haley Township v State Board of Education, 364 Mich 160; 110 NW2d 821 (1961).

One percent withheld from the counties' second quarterly distribution (January-March) pursuant to 1951 PA 51, Sec. 12(3), supra, is to be returned in accordance with the statutory appropriations formula to the county road commissions which had snowfall in the excess of 80 inches during the previous fiscal year by November 2. This one percent which is withheld from the county road commission distribution is not put into a separate fund; rather it remains undrawn in the Michigan transportation fund. The applicable statutes do not establish a snow removal 'fund;' the statutes merely authorize a snow removal appropriation.

The Michigan transportation fund continuously earns interest under the supervision of the Department of Treasury. While the withheld snow removal monies remain unsegregated from the Michigan transportation fund from approximately January until November, and as part of the aggregate fund earn interest, this interest is credited to the Michigan transportation fund as a single item. The one percent snow removal monies distribution is a set, budgeted appropriation which is not augmented and thereby continuously changed by interest earnings.

This result is in harmony with the legislative mandate in 1951 PA 51, Sec. 10, as last amended by 1978 PA 44, MCLA 247.660; MSA 9.1097(10), which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

'Income or profit derived from the investment of money in the Michigan transportation fund shall be deposited in the Michigan transportation fund.' (Emphasis supplied.)

Because the snow removal monies constitute an appropriation and not an independent item separate from the Michigan transportation fund, it is 'money' under 1951 PA 51, Sec. 10, supra. Consequently, any interest earned on the monies, such as the snow removal appropriation, is to be credited to the Michigan transportation fund pursuant to express legislative direction. Because the Michigan transportation fund is statutorily divided into the components of the Department of Transportation, the county road commissions, and the cities and villages according to specified percentages, the interest earned on any specified Michigan transportation fund money must be credited to the entire item so that the three divisions can share in this interest in accordance with the statute. To credit just one appropriation or one division with the interest its particular monies earn would be in contravention of the explicit statutory mandate. The snow removal appropriation which a county road commission receives is clearly not part of a separate interest bearing fund.

Nor is there any statutory provision for payment of interest upon such snow removal payments even if payments are not made by November 2 of each year.

It is my opinion, therefore, that the county road commissions do not have a right to receive interest on the fixed snow removal appropriations during the period between November 2 and the date the snow removal appropriations are received.

Frank J. Kelley

Attorney General


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