Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 5320
     November 09, 2023, Introduced by Rep. Wilson and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
          A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled
    "Revised judicature act of 1961,"
    by amending section 8121 (MCL 600.8121), as amended by 2018 PA 6.
                     THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
       Sec. 8121. (1) The sixteenth district consists of the city of
 Livonia, is a district of the third class, and has 2 judges.
       (2) The seventeenth district consists of the township of
 Redford in the county of Wayne, is a district of the third class,
 and has 2 judges.
       (3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the The
 eighteenth district consists of the city of Westland, is a district
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 of the third class, and has 2 judges. If the governing bodies of
 the cities of Westland and Wayne approve by resolutions the
 consolidation of the eighteenth and twenty-ninth districts prior to
 January 1, 2020, all of the following apply beginning January 1,
 2020:
         (a) The twenty-ninth district is abolished and the eighteenth
 district consists of the cities of Westland and Wayne, is a
 district of the third class, and has 3 judges. The additional
 judgeship in the eighteenth district shall be filled by the
 incumbent judge of the twenty-ninth district, who shall become a
 judge of the eighteenth district for the balance of the term to
 which he or she was elected or appointed.
         (b) The clerks of the cities of Westland and Wayne shall file
 copies of the resolutions with the state court administrator, who,
 as authorized by the supreme court, shall notify the elections
 division of the department of state that the consolidation has been
 approved under this section. A resolution that is filed before
 January 2, 2019 is a valid approval of the consolidation.
         (c) By proposing or authorizing the consolidation of the
 eighteenth and twenty-ninth districts, the legislature is not
 creating a new obligation for any affected district control unit.
 If a district control unit, acting through its governing body,
 approves the consolidation, then the approval constitutes an
 exercise of the district control unit's option to increase the
 level of activity and service offered in that district control unit
 beyond that required by existing law, as the elements of that
 option are provided by 1979 PA 101, MCL 21.231 to 21.244, and a
 voluntary acceptance by that district control unit of all expenses
 and capital improvements that may result from the consolidation of
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 the districts. However, the exercise of the option does not affect
 the state's obligation to pay the same portion of each judge's
 salary that is paid by the state to other district judges as
 provided by law, or to appropriate and disburse funds to the
 district control unit for the necessary costs of state requirements
 established by a state law that becomes effective on or after
 December 23, 1978.
       (4) The nineteenth district consists of the city of Dearborn,
 is a district of the third class, and has 3 judges.
       (5) The twentieth district consists of the city of Dearborn
 Heights, is a district of the third class, and has 2 judges.
       (6) The twenty-first district consists of the city of Garden
 City, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (7) The twenty-second district consists of the city of
 Inkster, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (8) The twenty-third district consists of the city of Taylor,
 is a district of the third class, and has 2 judges.
       (9) The twenty-fourth district consists of the cities of Allen
 Park and Melvindale, is a district of the third class, and has 2
 judges.
       (10) The twenty-fifth district consists of the cities of
 Ecorse, Lincoln Park, and River Rouge, is a district of the third
 class, and has 2 judges.
       (11) The twenty-seventh district consists of the cities of
 Wyandotte and Riverview, is a district of the third class, and has
 1 judge.
       (12) The twenty-eighth district consists of the city of
 Southgate, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (13) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), the The
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 twenty-ninth district consists of the city of Wayne, is a district
 of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (14) The thirtieth district consists of the city of Highland
 Park, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (15) The thirty-first district consists of the city of
 Hamtramck, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (16) The thirty-second-a district consists of the city of
 Harper Woods, is a district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (17) The thirty-second-b district consists of the cities of
 Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe, and Grosse
 Pointe Farms, and the village of Grosse Pointe Shores, is a
 district of the third class, and has 1 judge.
       (18) The thirty-third district consists of the cities of
 Trenton, Gibraltar, Woodhaven, Rockwood, and Flat Rock and the
 townships of Brownstown and Grosse Ile in the county of Wayne, is a
 district of the third class, and has the following number of
 judges:
       (a) Until the date determined under subdivision (b), 3 judges.
       (b) Beginning on the earlier of the following dates, 2 judges.
 :
       (i) The date on which a vacancy occurs in the office of
 district judge in this district, unless the vacancy occurs after
 the vacating judge has been defeated in a primary or general
 election.
       (ii) The beginning date of the term for which an incumbent
 district judge in this district no longer seeks election or
 reelection to that office.
       (19) The thirty-fourth district consists of the townships of
 Sumpter, Van Buren, and Huron in the county of Wayne and the cities
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 of Romulus and Belleville, is a district of the third class, and
 has 3 judges.
       (20) The thirty-fifth district consists of the cities of
 Northville and Plymouth and the townships of Northville, Plymouth,
 and Canton in the county of Wayne, is a district of the third
 class, and has the following number of judges:
       (a) Until the date determined under subdivision (b), 3 judges.
       (b) Beginning on the earlier of the following dates, 2 judges:
       (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 election or
 reelection to that office.
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Statutes affected: 
House Introduced Bill: 600.8121