SENATE BILL No. 907

 

 

November 30, 2005, Introduced by Senator CROPSEY and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled

 

"Revised judicature act of 1961,"

 

by amending sections 507, 508, 517, 518, 549a, 549g, 803, 8134, and

 

8135 (MCL 600.507, 600.508, 600.517, 600.518, 600.549a, 600.549g,

 

600.803, 600.8134, and 600.8135), section 507 as amended by 2001 PA

 

252, sections 508 and 8134 as amended by 2001 PA 253, sections 517

 

and 803 as amended by 2002 PA 715, section 518 as amended by 2001

 

PA 256, section 549g as added by 1981 PA 182, and section 8135 as

 

amended by 1982 PA 161.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 507. The sixth judicial circuit consists of the county of

 

Oakland and has  17  19 judges. Subject to section 550, this

 

judicial circuit may have  2  1 additional  judges  judge effective

 

January 1,  2003  2007, and 1 additional judge effective January 1,


 

2009.

 

     Sec. 508. The seventh judicial circuit consists of the county

 

of Genesee and has  7  9 judges. Subject to section 550, this

 

judicial circuit may have 1 additional judge effective January 1,  

 

2003 and 1 additional judge effective January 1, 2005  2007.

 

     Sec. 517. The sixteenth judicial circuit consists of the

 

county of Macomb and has  9  12 judges. Subject to section 550,

 

this circuit may have  2  1 additional  judges  judge effective

 

January 1,  2003, and 1 additional judge effective January 1, 2005  

 

2007.  If 2 new offices of judge are added to this circuit by

 

election in 2002, the candidate receiving the highest number of

 

votes in the November 2002 general election shall be elected for a

 

term of 8 years, and the candidate receiving the second highest

 

number of votes shall be elected for a term of 6 years. If a new

 

office of judge is added to this circuit by election in 2004, the

 

term of office of that judgeship for that election only shall be 8

 

years.

 

     Sec. 518. The seventeenth judicial circuit consists of the

 

county of Kent and has  7  9 judges. Subject to section 550, this

 

judicial circuit may have  2  1 additional  judges  judge effective

 

January 1,  2003  2007.

 

     Sec. 549a. The forty-ninth judicial circuit consists of the

 

counties of Mecosta and Osceola and has 1 judge. Subject to section

 

550, this judicial circuit may have 1 additional judge effective

 

January 1, 2007.

 

     Sec. 549g.  If the county of Isabella approves the reformation

 

of the twenty-first judicial circuit pursuant to law and the


 

counties of Clare and Gladwin approve the creation of the fifty-

 

fifth judicial circuit pursuant to law, the  The fifty-fifth

 

judicial circuit consists of the counties of Clare and Gladwin and

 

has 1 judge.  effective January 1, 1982.  Subject to section 550,

 

this judicial circuit may have 1 additional judge effective January

 

1, 2007.

 

     Sec. 803. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,

 

each county which is not part of a probate court district created

 

pursuant to sections 808 to 810 or previously created pursuant to

 

law  shall have at least  has 1 judge of probate.

 

     (2) Each probate court district created pursuant to law  shall

 

have  has 1 judge of probate.

 

     (3) The counties of Berrien, Calhoun, Genesee, Ingham, Macomb,

 

Monroe, Muskegon, Saginaw, St. Clair, and Washtenaw  shall  each  

 

have  has 2 judges of probate.

 

     (4) Until 12 noon, January 1, 2005, the county of Genesee

 

shall have 3 judges of probate; however, if, after 12 noon, January

 

1, 2003, a vacancy occurs in the judgeship held by the incumbent

 

probate judge in Genesee county whose term of office expires

 

January 1, 2005 and who would be ineligible to seek reelection to

 

that office in 2004, that probate judgeship is eliminated effective

 

12 noon, January 1, 2005. Beginning 12 noon, January 1, 2005, the

 

county of Genesee shall have 2 judges of probate.

 

     (5) Until 12 noon, January 1, 2005, the county of Macomb shall

 

have 3 judges of probate; however, if the incumbent probate judge

 

in Macomb county whose term of office as probate judge expires on

 

January 1, 2005 is elected in 2002 to the office of circuit judge


 

in the sixteenth judicial circuit for a term beginning January 1,

 

2003, that probate judgeship is eliminated effective 12 noon,

 

January 1, 2005. Beginning 12 noon, January 1, 2005, the county of

 

Macomb shall have 2 judges of probate.

 

     (4)  (6)  The county of Kalamazoo  shall have  has 3 judges of

 

probate.

 

     (5)  (7)  The county of Kent  shall have  has 4 judges of

 

probate.

 

     (6)  (8) The  Until 12 noon, January 1, 2009, the county of

 

Oakland  shall have  has 4 judges of probate. Beginning 12 noon,

 

January 1, 2009, the county of Oakland shall have 3 judges of

 

probate.

 

     (7)  (9) The  Until 12 noon, January 1, 2007, the county of

 

Wayne  shall have the following number of judges of probate:

 

     (a) Until subdivision (b) takes effect, the county of Wayne

 

shall have 9 judges of probate.

 

     (b) The county of Wayne shall have  has 8 judges of probate.  

 

beginning on the earliest of the following dates:

 

     (i) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in a judgeship held by an

 

incumbent probate judge in Wayne county whose term expires on

 

January 1, 2005, and who would be ineligible to seek reelection to

 

that office in 2004.

 

     (ii) Upon the expiration of the term of an incumbent probate

 

judge who is not eligible to seek reelection to that office.  

 

Beginning 12 noon, January 1, 2007, the county of Wayne shall have

 

7 judges of probate.

 

     (8)  (10)  When 1 or more new judges of probate are authorized


 

in a county pursuant to 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. 8134. (1) The sixty-seventh district consists of the

 

county of Genesee except the city of Flint, is a district of the

 

second class, and is divided into the following election divisions:

 

     (a) The first division consists of the cities of Flushing and

 

Clio and the townships of Flushing, Flint, Montrose, Thetford, and

 

Vienna and has 1 judge.

 

     (b) The second division consists of the cities of Davison and

 

Burton and the townships of Davison, Forest, Richfield, and Atlas

 

and has 2 judges.

 

     (c) The third division consists of the city of Mt. Morris and

 

the townships of Mt. Morris and Genesee and has 1 judge.

 

     (d) The fourth division consists of the cities of Fenton,

 

Grand Blanc, and Swartz Creek and the townships of Fenton,

 

Argentine, Grand Blanc, Mundy, Gaines, and Clayton and has 2

 

judges.

 

     (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the

 

county board of commissioners may by resolution designate the

 

county seat as a place where the court for the sixty-seventh

 

district shall sit in a central court facility. The adoption of

 

such a resolution shall not require the approval of the majority of

 

the judges of the district, and shall bind the county to maintain a

 

court facility in each municipality in the sixty-seventh district

 

where a court facility exists on the date of the resolution.


 

     (3) The sixty-eighth district consists of the city of Flint,

 

is a district of the third class, and has the following number of

 

judges:

 

     (a) Until subdivision (b) takes effect, this district has  6  

 

5 judges.

 

     (b) This district has  5  4 judges beginning on the earlier of

 

the following dates:

 

     (i) The date on which a vacancy occurs in the office of

 

district judge in this district.

 

     (ii) The beginning date of the term for which an incumbent

 

district judge in this district no longer seeks reelection to that

 

office.

 

     Sec. 8135. The seventieth district consists of the county of

 

Saginaw, is a district of the first class, and is divided into the

 

following election divisions:

 

     (a) The first division consists of the cities of Saginaw and

 

Zilwaukee and the townships of Zilwaukee, Buena Vista, Carrollton,

 

and Bridgeport and has  3  the following number of judges:  .

 

     (i) Until subparagraph (ii) takes effect, this election division

 

has 3 judges.

 

     (ii) This election division has 2 judges beginning on the

 

earlier of the following dates:

 

     (A) The date on which a vacancy occurs in the office of

 

district judge in this election division.

 

     (B) The beginning date of the term for which an incumbent

 

district judge in this election division no longer seeks reelection

 

to that office.


 

     (b) The second division consists of the county of Saginaw

 

except the cities of Saginaw and Zilwaukee and the townships of

 

Zilwaukee, Buena Vista, Carrollton, and Bridgeport and has 3

 

judges.