SERGEANT AT ARMS: LEGISLATURE - H.B. 6016 & 6017: COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bills 6016 and 6017 (as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Larry Julian (H.B. 6016)
Representative Ken Bradstreet (H.B. 6017)
House Committee: House Oversight and Operations
Senate Committee: Government Operations
Date Completed: 12-7-00
CONTENT
House Bill 6017 would create a new act to allow the Legislature to commission a sergeant at arms and assistant sergeant at arms as police officers. House Bill 6016 would amend the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards Act to include under the Act's definition of "police officer" the sergeant at arms or any assistant sergeant at arms of either house of the Legislature commissioned as a police officer by that house, as provided by law.
The bills are tie-barred. House Bill 6017 is described in more detail below.
The bill provides that each house of the Legislature could commission the sergeant at arms and one or more assistant sergeants at arms within that respective house as police officers, to enforce rules adopted by that house and State laws, as designated by the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively. In performing those enforcement activities, commissioned sergeants and assistant sergeants would be vested with the powers, privileges, prerogatives, and immunities conferred upon police officers under State laws.
The bill specifies that the office of sergeant at arms of each house of the Legislature would be a law enforcement agency of the State. Each sergeant or assistant sergeant commissioned as a police officer would have the power to enforce the rules of the respective house of the Legislature and State laws in the Capitol building and on Capitol grounds; in buildings in which the offices of legislative members were located; in locations where either house of the Legislature or a committee or subcommittee of either house was holding a session, meeting, or public hearing, including a reasonable time before and after the session, meeting, or hearing; in legislative parking areas; and in areas immediately adjacent to any of the places described above.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, pursuant to their respective rules, could delegate the authority to commission the sergeant or assistant sergeants as police officers to the Senate Majority Leader, Secretary of the Senate, or other officers or employees of the Senate, or to the Speaker of the House, the Clerk of the House, or other officers or employees of the House, as applicable.
The bill would establish a bipartisan sergeant at arms oversight committee in the House of Representatives. The six-member committee would consist of three members of the majority and three members of the minority party, as follows: the Speaker, who would serve as chair; the majority floor leader; the minority leader; the minority floor leader; one member appointed by the majority caucus leader; and one member appointed by the minority caucus leader. The committee would have to recommend to the Speaker of the House policy considerations that affected the powers of the sergeant at arms.
MCL 28.602 (H.B. 6016) - Legislative Analyst: G. Towne
FISCAL IMPACT
The bills would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
- Fiscal Analyst: B. BakerS9900\s6016sa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.