Bill Text: MI HB5980 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Elections; local; nonpartisan county clerks; provide for. Amends secs. 191, 195, 200, 203, 205, 206, 206a, 209, 697 & 699 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.191 et seq.); adds ch. XA & repeals sec. 208 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.208).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-11-08 - Printed Bill Filed 10/17/2012 [HB5980 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-HB5980-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 5980

 

October 17, 2012, Introduced by Reps. Brown and Barnett and referred to the Committee on Redistricting and Elections.

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending sections 191, 195, 200, 203, 205, 206, 206a, 209, 697,

 

and 699 (MCL 168.191, 168.195, 168.200, 168.203, 168.205, 168.206,

 

168.206a, 168.209, 168.697, and 168.699), section 191 as amended by

 

1999 PA 218, section 195 as amended by 2012 PA 276, section 200 as

 

amended by 1998 PA 364, section 209 as amended by 1990 PA 7, and

 

section 699 as amended by 2005 PA 71, and by adding chapter XA; and

 

to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 191. (1) A person shall is not be eligible to the office

 

of county clerk, county treasurer, register of deeds, prosecuting

 

attorney, sheriff, drain commissioner, surveyor, or coroner if the

 

person is not a registered and qualified elector of the county in

 

which election is sought by the filing deadline.

 

     (2) A person who has been convicted of a violation of section

 

12a(1) of 1941 PA 370, MCL 38.412a, shall is not be eligible to any

 

of the offices enumerated in this section for a period of 20 years

 

after conviction.

 

     Sec. 195. If a candidate of a political party for prosecuting

 

attorney, sheriff, county clerk, county treasurer, register of

 

deeds, drain commissioner, coroner, or surveyor, after having

 

qualified as a candidate, dies after the last day for qualifying,

 

leaving the political party without a candidate for that office, a

 

candidate to fill the vacancy may be selected by the members of the

 

county committee of the candidate's political party, and the name

 

of the candidate selected shall be transmitted to the county

 

officials required by law to print and distribute ballots. The name

 

of the candidate shall be printed on the ballots, but if the

 

ballots have been printed, the county officials shall have the

 

ballots reprinted with the candidate's name on the ballots and the

 

reprinted ballots shall be distributed to the various voting

 

precincts within their respective counties.

 

     Sec. 200. (1) A county clerk, a county treasurer, a register

 

of deeds, a prosecuting attorney, a sheriff, a drain commissioner,

 

and a surveyor shall be elected at the 2000 general November

 

election and every fourth year after that. However, in a county in

 

which 1 of these offices is abolished or combined as provided by

 

law, no person shall be elected to that office in that county.

 

     (2) Subject to subsections (3), (4), and (5), a county board

 

of commissioners may by resolution combine the offices of county

 

clerk and register of deeds in 1 office of the clerk register or

 

separate the office of the clerk register into the offices of

 

county clerk and register of deeds. A combination or separation of

 

offices shall not take effect before the expiration of the current

 

term of the affected offices.

 

     (3) Before adopting a resolution to combine the offices of

 

county clerk and register of deeds or separate the office of clerk

 

register into the offices of county clerk and register of deeds, a

 

county board of commissioners shall study the question of combining

 

or separating the offices. The mandatory requirements of this

 

subsection may be satisfied by conducting a public hearing pursuant

 

to subsection (4).

 

     (4) The county board of commissioners as a whole body shall

 

hold not less fewer than 1 public hearing, held subject to the open

 

meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275, on the question of

 

combining or separating the offices of county clerk and register of

 

deeds. The county board of commissioners may vote on the question

 

as a regularly scheduled agenda item not less than 10 days or more

 

than 30 days after the last public hearing held by the county board

 

of commissioners on the question.

 

     (5) Not later than the sixth Tuesday before the deadline for

 

filing the nominating petitions for the office of county clerk,

 

register of deeds, or clerk register, the county board of

 

commissioners may by a vote of 2/3 of the commissioners elected and

 

serving combine the offices of county clerk and register of deeds

 

or separate the office of the clerk register. The resolution shall

 

become effective upon the commencement of the next term of office

 

of the county clerk, register of deeds, or clerk register after the

 

adoption of the resolution.

 

     Sec. 203. The term of office of the county clerk, county

 

treasurer, register of deeds, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, drain

 

commissioner, surveyor, and coroner shall begin begins on January 1

 

next following the election , and continues until a successor is

 

elected and qualified, except that in counties having a population

 

of 1,000,000 or more the term of office of the county treasurer

 

shall begin begins on July 1 next following the election.

 

     Sec. 205. Any A person duly elected to any of the county

 

offices named in section 200 of this act who desires to resign

 

shall file a written notice containing the effective date of such

 

the resignation with the presiding or senior judge of probate, the

 

county clerk, and the prosecuting attorney of said the county. :

 

Provided, That if If the county clerk or the prosecuting attorney

 

desires to resign, he or she shall file a written notice containing

 

the effective date of such the resignation with the presiding judge

 

of that judicial circuit.

 

     Sec. 206. The office of county clerk, county treasurer,

 

register of deeds, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, drain

 

commissioner, surveyor, or coroner in any county in this state

 

shall become becomes vacant upon the happening of any of the

 

following events:

 

     (a) Death of the incumbent. ; his

 

     (b) The incumbent's resignation. ; his

 

     (c) The incumbent's removal from office for cause. ; his

 

     (d) The incumbent's ceasing to be a resident of the county in

 

which his or her office is located. ; his

 

     (e) The incumbent's conviction of an infamous crime or an

 

offense involving the violation of his or her oath of office. ; the

 

     (f) The decision of a competent tribunal declaring his the

 

incumbent's election or appointment void. ; his

 

     (g) The incumbent's refusal or neglect to take and subscribe

 

to the constitutional oath of office and deposit the same in the

 

manner and within the time prescribed by law. ; or his

 

     (h) The incumbent's refusal or neglect to give bond in the

 

amount and manner and within the time prescribed by law.

 

     Sec. 206a. Whenever any If a person elected to the office of

 

county clerk, county treasurer, register of deeds, prosecuting

 

attorney, sheriff, drain commissioner, surveyor, or coroner in any

 

county shall die dies before the commencement of the term for which

 

he or she was elected, there shall be is a vacancy for the term to

 

which such the person was elected to and the vacancy shall be

 

filled according to law. The vacancy shall be filled within 15 days

 

after the beginning of the term for which he or she was elected.

 

     Sec. 209. If a vacancy occurs in an elective or appointive

 

county office, it shall be filled in the following manner:

 

     (1) If the vacancy is in the office of county clerk or

 

prosecuting attorney, it shall be filled by appointment by the

 

judge or judges of that judicial circuit.

 

     (2) If the vacancy is in any other county office named in

 

section 200, the presiding or senior judge of probate, the county

 

clerk, and the prosecuting attorney shall appoint a suitable person

 

to fill the vacancy.

 

     (3) A person appointed shall take and subscribe to the oath as

 

provided in section 1 of article XI of the state constitution of

 

1963, give bond in the manner required by law, and hold office for

 

the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is

 

elected and qualified. However, if the next general November

 

election is to be held more than 182 days after the vacancy occurs,

 

and it is not the general November election at which a successor in

 

office would be elected if there were no vacancy, the person

 

appointed shall hold office only until a successor is elected at

 

the next general November election in the manner provided by law

 

and qualifies for office. The successor shall hold the office for

 

the remainder of the unexpired term.

 

CHAPTER XA

 

COUNTY CLERK

 

     Sec. 212. (1) A person is not eligible to the office of county

 

clerk if the person is not a registered and qualified elector of

 

the county in which the election is sought by the filing deadline.

 

     (2) A person who has been convicted of a violation of section

 

12a(1) of 1941 PA 370, MCL 38.412a, is not eligible to any of the

 

offices enumerated in this section for a period of 20 years after

 

conviction.

 

     Sec. 213. A general nonpartisan primary election shall be held

 

in every county of this state on the Tuesday after the first Monday

 

in August before every general November election at which a county

 

clerk is to be elected, at which time the qualified and registered

 

electors may vote for nonpartisan candidates for the office of

 

county clerk. If upon the expiration of the time for filing

 

petitions or a filing fee for the primary election of the county

 

clerk in any county it appears that there are not to exceed twice

 

the number of candidates as there are persons to be elected, then

 

the county clerk shall certify to the county board of election

 

commissioners the name of the candidate for county clerk whose

 

petitions have been properly filed and that candidate shall be the

 

nominee for the office of county clerk and shall be so certified.

 

As to that office, there shall be no primary election and this

 

office shall be omitted from the primary ballot.

 

     Sec. 213a. (1) Subject to subsection (2), to obtain the

 

printing of the name of a person as a candidate for nomination for

 

the office of county clerk upon the official nonpartisan primary

 

ballots, there shall be filed with the county clerk nominating

 

petitions signed by a number of qualified and registered electors

 

residing within the county as determined under section 544f.

 

Nominating petitions shall be in the form prescribed in section

 

544a. The county clerk shall receive nominating petitions up to 4

 

p.m. of the fifteenth Tuesday before the August primary.

 

     (2) Instead of filing nominating petitions, a candidate for

 

county clerk may pay a filing fee of $100.00 to the county clerk.

 

Payment of the filing fee and certification of the candidate's name

 

paying the filing fee shall be governed by the same provisions as

 

in the case of nominating petitions. The fee shall be deposited in

 

the general fund of the county.

 

     (3) The nominating petition signatures filed under this

 

section are subject to challenge as provided in section 552.

 

     Sec. 214. After the filing of a nominating petition or filing

 

fee by or on behalf of a proposed candidate for the office of

 

county clerk, the proposed candidate is not permitted to withdraw

 

unless he or she serves a written notice of withdrawal on the

 

county clerk, or his or her duly authorized agent not later than 4

 

p.m., eastern standard time, in the afternoon of the third day

 

after the last day for filing the nominating petition or filing

 

fee. If the third day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal

 

holiday, the notice of withdrawal may be served on the county clerk

 

up to 4 p.m., eastern standard time, on the next secular day.

 

     Sec. 215. The candidates for the office of county clerk

 

receiving the largest number of votes at a primary election, to a

 

number equal to twice the number of places to be filled as set

 

forth in the report of the board of county canvassers, based on the

 

returns from the various election precincts or as determined by the

 

board of county canvassers as the result of a recount, shall be

 

declared the nominees for the office of county clerk at the next

 

November election. The board of county canvassers shall certify the

 

nominations to the county election commission.

 

     Sec. 215a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a

 

county clerk shall be elected in each county in which a county

 

clerk is to be elected by law.

 

     (2) If there are fewer nominees for the office of county clerk

 

than there are persons to be elected because of the death or

 

disqualification of a nominee less than 66 days before the general

 

November election, then a person shall not be elected at that

 

general November election to that office for which there is no

 

nominee.

 

     Sec. 216. A county clerk shall be elected at the 2016 general

 

November election and every fourth year after that.

 

     Sec. 217. The board of county canvassers shall determine which

 

candidate for the office of county clerk received the greatest

 

number of votes and shall declare that candidate elected. The board

 

of county canvassers shall make and subscribe on its statement of

 

returns a certificate of the determination and deliver the

 

certificate to the county clerk within 14 days after the date of

 

the election.

 

     Sec. 217a. The county clerk shall file in his or her office

 

and preserve the original statement and determination of the board

 

of canvassers of the results of the election and shall execute and

 

cause to be delivered to the person declared elected to the office

 

of county clerk a properly certified certificate of election,

 

certified by him or her under the seal of the county. The county

 

clerk may cause a copy of the certificate of determination and the

 

statement of the votes cast at the election for the office to be

 

published in at least 1 newspaper printed or circulated, or both,

 

in that county.

 

     Sec. 217b. The term of office of the county clerk begins on

 

January 1 next following an election and continues until a

 

successor is elected and qualified.

 

     Sec. 218. A person elected as county clerk, before entering

 

upon the duties of his or her office, shall take and subscribe to

 

the oath as provided in section 1 of article XI of the state

 

constitution of 1963 and shall give bond in the amount and manner

 

prescribed by law and shall deposit the oath with the county clerk

 

and the bond with the county treasurer.

 

     Sec. 218a. A person elected as county clerk who desires to

 

resign shall file a written notice containing the effective date of

 

the resignation with the presiding judge of that judicial circuit.

 

     Sec. 219. The office of county clerk in any county of this

 

state becomes vacant upon the happening of any of the following

 

events:

 

     (a) Death of the incumbent.

 

     (b) The incumbent's resignation.

 

     (c) The incumbent's removal from office for cause.

 

     (d) The incumbent's ceasing to be a resident of the county in

 

which his or her office is located.

 

     (e) The incumbent's conviction for a crime or an offense

 

involving the violation of his or her oath of office.

 

     (f) The decision of a competent tribunal declaring the

 

incumbent's election or appointment void.

 

     (g) The incumbent's refusal or neglect to take and subscribe

 

to the constitutional oath of office and deposit the same in the

 

manner and within the time prescribed by law.

 

     (h) The incumbent's refusal or neglect to give bond in the

 

amount and manner and within the time prescribed by law.

 

     Sec. 219a. If a person elected to the office of county clerk

 

in any county dies before the beginning of the term for which he or

 

she was elected, there is a vacancy for the term to which the

 

person was elected and the vacancy shall be filled according to

 

law. The vacancy shall be filled within 15 days after the beginning

 

of the term for which he or she was elected.

 

     Sec. 219b. (1) The governor may remove a county clerk if the

 

governor is satisfied from the evidence submitted that the officer

 

is guilty of official misconduct, willful neglect of duty,

 

extortion, or habitual drunkenness, or has been convicted of being

 

drunk, or if it appears by a certified copy of the judgment of a

 

court of record of this state that the county clerk, after his or

 

her election or appointment, has been convicted of a felony.

 

     (2) Before the governor removes a county clerk under this

 

section, all of the following procedures shall be followed:

 

     (a) Charges must be exhibited to the governor in writing

 

specifying the grounds for removal. The charges shall be

 

accompanied by any supporting evidence and by the affidavit of the

 

person making the charges verifying that the person believes the

 

charges to be true.

 

     (b) A copy of the charges must be served on the county clerk.

 

Service shall be made as follows:

 

     (i) If the county clerk can be found, by handing to the county

 

clerk a copy of the charges, together with all affidavits or

 

exhibits that may be attached to the charges.

 

     (ii) If the county clerk cannot be found, by leaving a copy of

 

the charges, together with all affidavits or exhibits that may be

 

attached to the charges, with a person of suitable age at the

 

county clerk's last known place of residence or, if a person of

 

suitable age is not available, by posting the copy or copies in a

 

conspicuous place at the county clerk's last known place of

 

residence.

 

     (c) The county clerk shall be given an opportunity to respond

 

to the charges.

 

     (3) A county clerk removed from office under this section is

 

not eligible for election or appointment to any office for a period

 

of 3 years from the date of the removal.

 

     Sec. 219c. (1) If a vacancy occurs in the office of county

 

clerk, it shall be filled by appointment by the judge or judges of

 

that judicial circuit.

 

     (2) A person appointed shall take and subscribe to the oath as

 

provided in section 1 of article XI of the state constitution of

 

1963, give bond in the manner required by law, and hold office for

 

the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is

 

elected and qualified. However, if the next general November

 

election is to be held more than 182 days after the vacancy occurs

 

and it is not the general November election at which a successor in

 

office would be elected if there were no vacancy, the person

 

appointed shall hold office only until a successor is elected at

 

the next general November election in the manner provided by law

 

and qualifies for office. The successor shall hold the office for

 

the remainder of the unexpired term.

 

     Sec. 219d. The judge of the circuit court and the circuit

 

court commissioner shall have authority, in term or vacation, to

 

remove the county clerk when in their opinion he or she is

 

incompetent to execute properly the duties of his or her office, or

 

when, on charges and evidence, they are satisfied that he or she

 

has been guilty of official misconduct or habitual or willful

 

neglect of duty, if in their opinion the misconduct or neglect is a

 

sufficient cause for removal. A clerk shall not be removed for

 

misconduct or neglect unless charges are preferred to the judge or

 

commissioner and notice of the hearing with a copy of the charges

 

delivered to the clerk, and a full opportunity given him or her to

 

be heard in his or her defense. All expense on the part of the

 

prosecution for examination of charges provided for in section 219b

 

shall be paid by the counties in which the officer to be examined

 

holds his or her office.

 

     Sec. 220. The votes cast for a candidate for the office of

 

county clerk at any primary or election are subject to recount as

 

provided in chapter XXXIII.

 

     Sec. 220a. A person elected to the office of county clerk is

 

subject to recall as provided in chapter XXXVI.

 

     Sec. 697. At the general November election, the names of the

 

several offices to be voted for shall be placed on the ballot

 

substantially in the following order in the years in which

 

elections for such those offices are held: Electors of president

 

and vice-president of the United States; governor and lieutenant

 

governor; secretary of state; attorney general; United States

 

senator; representative in congress; senator and representative in

 

the state legislature; members of the state board of education;

 

regents of the university of Michigan; trustees of Michigan state

 

university; governors of Wayne state university; county executive;

 

prosecuting attorney; sheriff; clerk; treasurer; register of deeds;

 

auditor in counties electing an auditor; mine inspector in counties

 

electing a mine inspector; county road commissioners; drain

 

commissioners; coroners; and surveyor. The following township

 

officers shall be placed on the same ballot as above described in

 

substantially the following order in the year in which elections

 

for such those offices are held: supervisor, clerk, treasurer,

 

trustees, and constables.

 

     Sec. 699. At any regular election, the names of the several

 

nonpartisan offices to be voted for shall be placed on a separate

 

portion of the ballot containing no party designation in the

 

following order: justices of the supreme court, judges of the court

 

of appeals, judges of the circuit court, judges of the probate

 

court, judges of the district court, county clerk, city officers,

 

the following village officers in substantially the following order

 

in the year in which elections for the offices are held: president,

 

clerk, treasurer, and trustees, and in a year in which an election

 

for the office is held, local school district board member,

 

community college board of trustees member, intermediate school

 

district board member, and district library board member.

 

     Enacting section 1. Section 208 of the Michigan election law,

 

1954 PA 116, MCL 168.208, is repealed.