SOCC DETERMINATION APPROVAL
House Bill 4386
Sponsor: Rep. Michael Switalski
Committee: House Oversight and Operations
Complete to 3-2-01
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4386 AS INTRODUCED 3-1-01
Currently, under Article IV, Section 12 of the state constitution, the State Officers Compensation Commission (SOCC) determines the salaries and expense allowances of the members of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the justices of the state supreme court. Unless the legislature adopts, by a two-thirds majority of the members elected to and serving in each house, a concurrent resolution rejecting the salaries and expense allowances proposed by the SOCC, the salaries and expense allowances are implemented.
House Bill 4386 would amend Public Act 357 of 1968 (MCL 15.213 et al.), which implements the State Officers Compensation Commission provisions of the state constitution, to change the process for approval of the SOCC recommendations for salaries and expense allowances for members of the legislature (and would leave the current process in place with regard to salaries and expense allowances for the governor, lieutenant governor, and supreme court justices).
Under the bill, the commission would be required to make a recommendation for the salaries and expense allowances for legislators, and also to provide the legislature the option of adopting either a) the commission's recommendation, or b) a salary and expense allowance indexed to the average wage of all state employees represented by a labor organization. The commission would have to submit the two options to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, all members of the legislature, and the director of the Department of Management and Budget between December 1 and December 31 of each even numbered year.
The recommendation of the commission would take effect on January 1 of the year following its submission to the legislature unless the legislature adopted, by a 2/3 vote of the members elected and serving and prior to February 1, a concurrent resolution that either:
· expressly rejected both options submitted by the commission (both the SOCC's own recommendation and a salary indexed to the average wage of state employees), or
·expressly adopted the option to receive a salary indexed to the average state employee wage.
If the legislature expressly rejected both options submitted by the commission, then the salaries and expense allowances would not change.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.