HOUSE BILL NO. 5859
June 16, 2020, Introduced by Reps. Green and
Hernandez and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled
"Revised judicature act of 1961,"
by amending sections 803 and 807 (MCL 600.803 and 600.807), section 803 as amended by 2012 PA 36 and section 807 as amended by 2004 PA 492.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 803. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, each county that is not part of a probate court district created by
law has 1 judge of probate.
(2) Each Except as otherwise provided, each probate
court district created by law has 1 judge of probate.
(3) The county of Sanilac
has 1 judge of probate. Under section 15 of article VI of the state
constitution of 1963, the office of probate judge for the county of Sanilac
shall be combined with the office of judge of the seventy-third-a judicial
district, and the incumbent judge of the seventy-third-a judicial district
shall become the probate judge for the county of Sanilac for the balance of the
term to which he or she was elected.
(4) The county of Huron has the
following number of judges of probate:
(a)
Until April 1, 2012, 1 judge.
(b)
Beginning April 1, 2012, under Under section
15 of article VI of the state constitution of 1963, the office of probate judge
for the county of Huron shall be combined with the office of judge of the
seventy-third-b judicial district, and the county of Huron shall have 2 judges
of probate. The judgeship added under this subdivision shall be filled by the
incumbent judge of the seventy-third-b judicial district, who shall become a
probate judge for the county of Huron for the balance of the term to which he
or she was elected.
(c)
Beginning the earlier of the following dates, the county of Huron has 1 judge
of probate:
(i) The date on
which a vacancy occurs in the office of probate judge in this county.
(ii) The beginning date of the term for which
an incumbent probate judge in this county no longer seeks election or
reelection to that office.
(5) Beginning January 1, 2021, if the boards of commissioners
of the counties of Huron and Sanilac approve the consolidation of the
thirty-second and seventy-sixth judicial probate courts under section 15 of article
VI of the state constitution of 1963, the thirty-second-a probate court
district described in section 807 has 3 judges of probate.
(6) If the consolidated district is created under subsection (5),
all of the following apply:
(a) The thirty-second and seventy-sixth probate courts are
abolished. The thirty-second-a court district consists of all of the territory
of the former thirty-second and seventy-sixth probate courts before the
effective date of the amendatory act that added this subdivision.
(b) The thirty-second-a probate court district is divided
into the following election divisions:
(i) The first division consists of the
county of Sanilac and has 1 judge.
(ii) The second division consists of the
county of Huron and has 1 judge.
(iii) The third division consists of the consolidated
district of the counties of Huron and Sanilac and has 1 judge.
(c) Each incumbent judge of probate from the former thirty-second
and seventy-sixth probate courts shall serve as a judge of probate in the
consolidated district for the balance of his or her elected term. The first
division shall initially be filled by the incumbent judge from the seventy-sixth
probate court. The second division shall initially be filled by an incumbent
judge from the thirty-second probate court. The third division shall initially be
filled by the longest serving incumbent judge from the thirty-second probate
court.
(7) (5) The county of Chippewa has the following number
of judges of probate:
(a) Until April 1, 2012, 1 judge.
(a) (b) Beginning April 1, 2012, under Under section 15 of
article VI of the state constitution of 1963, the office of probate judge for
the county of Chippewa shall be combined with the office of judge of the
ninety-first judicial district, and the county of Chippewa shall have 2 judges
of probate. The judgeship added under this subdivision shall be filled by the
incumbent judge of the ninety-first judicial district, who shall become a
probate judge for the county of Chippewa for the balance of the term to which
he or she was elected.
(b) (c) Beginning the earlier of the following dates,
the county of Chippewa has 1 judge of probate:
(i) The date on which
a vacancy occurs in the office of probate judge in this county.
(ii) The beginning
date of the term for which an incumbent probate judge in this county no longer
seeks election or reelection to that office.
(8) (6) The counties of Berrien, Genesee, Ingham,
Macomb, Monroe, Muskegon, Saginaw, St. Clair, and Washtenaw each has 2 judges
of probate.
(9) (7) The county of Kalamazoo has 3 judges of
probate.
(10) (8) The county of Kent has 4 judges of probate.
(11) (9) The county of Oakland has 4 judges of probate.
(12) (10) The county of Wayne has 8 judges of probate.
(13) (11) When 1 or more new judges of probate are
authorized in a county under this section, the new judgeship or judgeships
shall appear on the ballot separate and apart from other judicial offices of
the same court in the primary and general election.
Sec. 807. (1) A probate court
district is created in each of the following described districts when a
majority of the electors voting on the question in each affected county
approves the probate court district. The districts shall consist as follows:
(a) The first district consists of the counties of Houghton
and Keweenaw.
(b) The fifth district consists of the counties of
Schoolcraft and Alger.
(c) The sixth district consists of the counties of Mackinac
and Luce.
(d) The seventh district consists of the counties of Emmet
and Charlevoix.
(e) The seventeenth district consists of the counties of
Clare and Gladwin.
(f) The eighteenth district consists of the counties of
Mecosta and Osceola.
(2) Beginning
January 1, 2021, the thirty-second-a probate court district is created and consists
of the counties of Huron and Sanilac if a majority of the electors voting on
the question in each affected county approves the probate court district.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.