(a) The Commissioner of Transportation shall keep a record of all proceedings and orders pertaining to the matters under said commissioner's direction and copies of all plans, specifications and estimates submitted to said commissioner. Said commissioner shall furnish to any court in this state without charge certified copies of any document or record pertaining to the operation of the department, and any certified document or record of the commissioner, attested as a true copy by the commissioner, the deputy commissioner, the chief engineer of the department, or any deputy commissioner or bureau head for an operating bureau, shall be competent evidence in any court of this state of the facts contained in such document or record. The commissioner may delegate to the deputy commissioner, the chief engineer, the deputy commissioners or bureau heads for operating bureaus, and other agency staff as appropriate, the authority to sign any agreement, contract, document or instrument which the commissioner is authorized to sign and any such signature shall be binding and valid.

(b) The executive director of the Office of the State Traffic Administration may certify copies of any document or record pertaining to the operation of the Office of the State Traffic Administration, and any certified document or record of said office, attested as a true copy by said executive director, shall be competent evidence in any court of this state of the facts contained in such document or record.

(1969, P.A. 768, S. 52; P.A. 09-186, S. 1; P.A. 12-132, S. 10; P.A. 13-277, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 09-186 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), made technical changes therein and added Subsec. (b) to authorize executive director of State Traffic Commission to certify copies of documents or records, effective July 20, 2009; P.A. 12-132 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing references to State Traffic Commission with references to Office of the State Traffic Administration, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-277 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re bureau head attesting as true any certified document or record of commissioner and to add provisions allowing commissioner to delegate signature authority to bureau head or other appropriate agency staff, effective July 1, 2013.

Former statute cited. 120 C. 435; 150 C. 374.

Highway commissioner, when acting in his official capacity, is immune from suit without consent for he is an agent of the state. 21 CS 214.