Sec. 4.

(1) Facility owners and facility operators shall continue to operate and be members of MISS DIG Systems, Inc., a Michigan nonprofit corporation, that shall have the duties and undertake the responsibilities of the notification system under this act on and after the effective date of this act. The notification system responsibilities and duties do not include the physical marking of facilities, which is the responsibility of a facility owner or facility operator upon notification under this act.

(2) The notification system and its procedures shall be governed by its board of directors and in accordance with its current articles of incorporation and bylaws as of the effective date of this act, with any future changes made in accordance with the nonprofit corporation act, 1982 PA 162, MCL 450.2101 to 450.3192, and the notification system's articles, bylaws, and board procedures. The notification system shall request input regarding its policies from all interested persons, including facility owners and facility operators, excavators, marking service providers, and governmental agencies.

(3) Funding for the notification system operations shall be established by the notification system, including through fees based on a reasonable assessment of operating costs among facility owners or facility operators. A facility owner or facility operator shall not charge a fee to excavators for marking facilities under this act.

(4) Facility owners and facility operators shall be members of and participate in the notification system and pay the fees levied by the notification system under this section. This obligation and the requirements of this act for facility owners and facility operators do not apply to persons owning or operating a facility located on real property the person owns or occupies if the facility is operated solely for the benefit of that person.

(5) Owners of real property on which there is a farm operation, as that term is defined in section 2 of the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.472, may become a nonvoting member of the notification system, known as a farm member, upon providing the notification system with the information necessary to send the farm member a ticket for purposes of notification under section 6(1). A farm member is not subject to any fees levied under subsection (3).

(6) The notification system is exempt from taxes collected under the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1 to 211.155.

History: 2013, Act 174, Eff. Apr. 1, 2014