NOMINATING PETITIONS DEADLINE

Senate Bills 1095 and 1127 as enacted

Public Acts 627 and 628 of 2018

Sponsor:  Sen. Wayne A. Schmidt

House Committee:  Elections and Ethics

Senate Committee:  Elections and Government Reform

Complete to 2-10-19

SUMMARY:

Senate Bill 1095 amends the Michigan Election Law to set a deadline for nominating petitions of 4 p.m. on the fifteenth Tuesday before the election. The bill took effect December 28, 2018.

MCL 168.321 and 168.646a

Senate Bill 1127 amends the Community Colleges Act to set a deadline of 4 p.m. on the fifteenth Tuesday before the primary for nominating petitions for candidates for trustee on a community college board. The bill takes effect March 28, 2019.

MCL 389.83

BRIEF DISCUSSION:

Legislation passed in 2012[1] moved the deadline for filing nominating petitions to at least 15 weeks before the August primary. In 2015[2] and 2017,[3] confusion over whether a city charter or state law governed the deadline necessitated bills fixing those specific situations. According to Senate committee testimony, these bills are intended as a permanent fix to prevent future confusion. Accordingly, House Bill 1095 lists all of the citations for nominating petitions throughout the Election Law, to make clear that state law governs the deadlines for nominating petitions.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bills would have no impact on the state or local units of government.

                                                                                         Legislative Analyst:   Jenny McInerney

                                                                                                Fiscal Analysts:   Michael Cnossen

                                                                                                                           Perry Zielak

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.

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