In the case of Williams v Detroit, the plaintiff fell on a paved walkway and injured his ankle. The walkway is immediately next to the St. Clair River in Detroit, and it runs parallel to Jefferson Avenue, but is separated from the avenue by a wide field and wire fence. The plaintiff brought suit, alleging the highway exception to governmental immunity. In response, the City argued that this river trail does not meet the statutory definition of highway, which is "a public highway, road, or street that is open for public travel and includes bridges, sidewalks, trailways, crosswalks, and culverts on the highway."

After the trial court granted summary disposition to the City, the plaintiff argued on appeal that, under this definition, the term "on the highway" only pertained to "culverts" and it did not matter that the river trail was not adjacent to the highway. The Court of Appeals agreed, and the City appealed to the Supreme Court. In an Order dated October 28, 2011, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, and reinstated summary disposition for the City, stating that the "plaintiff was not injured on a sidewalk or trailway 'on the highway' as required by MCL 691.1401(e) to avoid governmental immunity."

View the Supreme Court's Order here.

On October 26, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented his special message entitled "Reinventing Michigan's Infrastructure: Better Roads Drive Better Jobs." As part of the message, Governor Snyder proposes that Michigan revamp its taxing and funding structure for road maintenance. Among the highlights of the message, the Governor proposes that Michigan:

• Revise the 60 year old Michigan law that dictates how transportation revenue is distributed and spent
• Eliminate the current gas tax on consumers, and replace it with a percentage tax at the wholesale level
• Increase the state vehicle registration fee, and allow local municipalities to collect registration fees of up to $40 per year
• Create a regional transit authority for Southeast Michigan

Read the 13-page text version of the special message in its entirety.

On October 20, 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals published opinion, Hopkins v Township of Duncan answered a question that has long baffled public offices when responding to private citizens' FOIA requests.

The Court held that handwritten notes of a township board member taken for his personal use, not circulated among other board members, not used in the creation of the minutes of any of the meetings, and retained or destroyed at his sole discretion, are not public records subject to disclosure under FOIA.

The case  started after a private citizen asked the Township to release the hand written notes taken by its officers during a public meeting held in accordance with OMA.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is scheduled to deliver a special message regarding Transportation and Infrastructure today (Wednesday, October 26,) at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). The broadcast will be streamed live on the following website:

http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57578-264592--,00.html

If you visit the site before the broadcast begins, you may need to refresh the page to view the broadcast.