COUNTY EXECUTIVE; TERMS                                                             S.B. 525:

                                                                     SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

                                                                                              IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 525 (as introduced 6-9-21)

Sponsor:  Senator Paul Wojno

Committee:  Local Government

Date Completed:  1-27-22

CONTENT

The bill would amend Public Act 293 of 1966, which allows for the creation of charter counties, to do the following:

-- Specify that a county executive who was elected at the 2022 general November election would serve for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2023, and ending December 31, 2024.

-- Specify that a county executive elected at the 2024 general November election and every fourth year election after 2024, would serve for a four-year term beginning on Janurary 1 following the election.

-- Require a county executive elected concurrently with the term of office of the governor to continue be elected as such for four-year terms, if adopted by resolution by April 1, 2022.

The Act requires a county charter to provide for the election of certain officers. In a county with a population of less than 1.5 million, the charter must provide for an elected county executive who must be elected at large on a partisan basis.

Under the bill, notwithstanding any charter provision to the contrary and except as otherwise provided, if a county elected a county executive under the Act, both of the following would apply:

-- At the general November election in 2022, a county executive who was a qualified elector in that county would have to elected at large on a partisan basis for a two-year term that would begin January 1, 2023, and end on December 31, 2024.

-- At the general November election in 2024 and every fourth year after 2024, a county executive who was a qualified elector in that county would have to be elected at large on a partisan basis for a four-year term that would begin on January 1 following the election.

If, by April 1, 2022, a board of county commissioners adopted a resolution to continue to elect the county executive with the term of office of the governor, then the county executive would have to continue to be elected at large on a partisan basis for a four-year term that was concurrent with the term of the office of the governor. (Under Public Act 139 of 1973, a county executive who is a qualified elector in the county must be elected for a four-year term concurrent with the term of the county prosecuting attorney, county clerk, county register of deeds, and county drain commissioner. If a county executive is elected at an election different than the election for county officers, his or her first term must extend only until the January following the election for county officers.)

Proposed MCL 45.514b                                    Legislative Analyst:  Dana Adams

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.

                                                                           Fiscal Analyst:  Ryan Bergan

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.