Act No. 205

Public Acts of 2004

Approved by the Governor

July 14, 2004

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 14, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2004

STATE OF MICHIGAN

92ND LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2004

Introduced by Reps. Tabor, Voorhees and Vander Veen

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4771

AN ACT to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled "An act to revise and consolidate the statutes relating to the organization and jurisdiction of the courts of this state; the powers and duties of such courts, and of the judges and other officers thereof; the forms and attributes of civil claims and actions; the time within which civil actions and proceedings may be brought in said courts; pleading, evidence, practice and procedure in civil and criminal actions and proceedings in said courts; to provide remedies and penalties for the violation of certain provisions of this act; to repeal all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with or contravening any of the provisions of this act; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending section 2529 (MCL 600.2529), as amended by 2003 PA 178.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 2529. (1) In the circuit court, the following fees shall be paid to the clerk of the court:

(a) Before a civil action other than an action brought exclusively under section 2950, 2950a, or 2950h to 2950m is commenced, or before the filing of an application for superintending control or for an extraordinary writ, except the writ of habeas corpus, the party bringing the action or filing the application shall pay the sum of $150.00. The clerk at the end of each month shall transmit for each fee collected under this subdivision within the month $31.00 to the county treasurer and the balance of the filing fee to the state treasurer for deposit in the civil filing fee fund created in section 171.

(b) Before the filing of a claim of appeal or motion for leave to appeal from the district court, probate court, a municipal court, or an administrative tribunal or agency, the sum of $150.00. For each fee collected under this subdivision, the clerk shall transmit $31.00 to the county treasurer and the balance of the fee to the state treasurer for deposit in the civil filing fee fund created in section 171.

(c) If a trial by jury is demanded, the party making the demand at the time shall pay the sum of $85.00. Failure to pay the fee at the time the demand is made constitutes a waiver of the right to a jury trial. The sum shall be taxed in favor of the party paying the fee, in case the party recovers a judgment for costs. For each fee collected under this subdivision, the clerk shall transmit $25.00 to the state treasurer for deposit in the juror compensation reimbursement fund created in section 151d.

(d) Before entry of a final judgment or order in an action in which the custody, support, or parenting time of minor children is determined or modified, the party submitting the judgment or order shall pay 1 of the following fees, which shall be deposited by the county treasurer as provided in section 2530:

(i) In an action in which the custody or parenting time of minor children is determined, $80.00.

(ii) In an action in which the support of minor children is determined or modified, $40.00. This fee does not apply when a fee is paid under subparagraph (i). The court may order a party to reimburse to the other party all or a portion of the fee paid by that other party.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon the filing of a motion the sum of $20.00. In conjunction with an action brought under section 2950 or 2950a, a motion fee shall not be collected for a motion to dismiss the petition, a motion to modify, rescind, or terminate a personal protection order, or a motion to show cause for a violation of a personal protection order. A motion fee shall not be collected for a motion to dismiss a proceeding to enforce a foreign protection order or a motion to show cause for a violation of a foreign protection order under sections 2950h to 2950m. A motion fee shall not be collected for a request for a hearing to contest income withholding under section 7 of the support and parenting time enforcement act, 1982 PA 295, MCL 552.607. For each fee collected under this subdivision, the clerk shall transmit $10.00 to the state treasurer for deposit in the state court fund created by section 151a.

(f) For services under the direction of the court that are not specifically provided for in this section relative to the receipt, safekeeping, or expending of money, or the purchasing, taking, or transferring of a security, or the collecting of interest on a security, the clerk shall receive the allowance and compensation from the parties as the court may consider just and shall direct by court order, after notice to the parties to be charged.

(g) Upon appeal to the court of appeals or the supreme court, the sum of $25.00.

(h) The sum of $15.00 as a service fee for each writ of garnishment, attachment, execution, or judgment debtor discovery subpoena issued.

(2) The sums paid as provided in this section shall be held to be in full for all clerk, entry, and judgment fees in an action from the commencement of the action to and including the issuance and return of the execution or other final process, and are taxable as costs.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the fees shall be paid over to the county treasurer as required by law.

(4) At the end of each month, the clerk shall transmit for each fee collected under subsection (1)(d) $10.00 to the state treasurer for deposit in the fund created by section 6a of the office of child support act, 1971 PA 174, MCL 400.236a. The balance of the fee collected under subsection (1)(d)(i) shall be paid to the county treasurer and deposited by the county treasurer as provided under section 2530 to be used to fund services that are not title IV-D services. The balance of the fee collected under subsection (1)(d)(ii) shall be paid to the county treasurer and deposited by the county treasurer as provided under section 2530.

(5) The court shall order any of the fees prescribed in this section waived or suspended, in whole or in part, upon a showing by affidavit of indigency or inability to pay.

(6) If the person filing an action under subsection (1)(d) is a public officer acting in his or her official capacity, if the order is submitted with the initial filing as a consent order, or other good cause is shown, the court shall order the fee under subsection (1)(d) waived or suspended. If a fee is waived or suspended and the action is contested, the court may require that 1 or more of the parties to the action pay the fee under subsection (1)(d).

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act shall take effect October 1, 2004.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor