HOUSE BILL No. 5410

 

 

January 11, 2018, Introduced by Rep. Glenn and referred to the Committee on Elections and Ethics.

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending sections 178 and 641 (MCL 168.178 and 168.641), section

 

178 as amended by 1980 PA 261 and section 641 as amended by 2015 PA

 

197; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 178. (1) The governor may call a special election as

 

provided in section 634 in any senatorial or representative

 

district of the state when If the right of office of a person an

 

individual elected state senator or representative shall cease

 

ceases before the commencement of the term of service for which the

 

state senator or representative was elected, or whenever if a

 

vacancy occurs in the office of state senator or representative

 

after the term of service has begun for which the state senator or

 

representative was elected, the office or vacancy shall be filled

by appointment as provided in this section.

 

     (2) Within 15 days after the right of office ceases or a

 

vacancy occurs as described in subsection (1), the county executive

 

committee of the county committee of that elected state senator's

 

or state representative's political party, if the senatorial or

 

representative district is wholly located within 1 county, or, if

 

the senatorial or representative district is comprised of more than

 

1 county, then the county executive committee of the county

 

committee of that elected state senator's or state representative's

 

political party of each county in the senatorial or representative

 

district, shall meet and select, by a majority vote, 3 candidates

 

whose names shall be submitted to the governor. Within 15 days

 

after receiving the names of the 3 candidates, the governor shall

 

appoint to the office of state senator or state representative 1 of

 

the candidates to fill the office or vacancy.

 

     (3) If the names of 3 candidates are not submitted to the

 

governor within 15 days after the right of office ceases or a

 

vacancy occurs as required under subsection (2), the governor

 

shall, within 5 days after the expiration of the 15-day period,

 

appoint to the office of state senator or state representative a

 

person to fill the office or vacancy. The person appointed by the

 

governor under this subsection shall be qualified for that office

 

and be a member of the same political party as the elected state

 

senator or state representative who caused the right of office to

 

cease or who caused the vacancy.

 

     (4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the

 

person appointed by the governor to the office of state senator or

state representative shall hold office for the remainder of the

 

unexpired term and until a successor is elected and qualified. If

 

the right of office ceases in the office of state senator, or, if a

 

vacancy occurs in the office of state senator more than 7 days

 

before the nominating petition filing deadline as provided in

 

section 163 for the general November election that is not the

 

general November election at which a successor in office would be

 

elected if there were no vacancy, the person appointed to the

 

office of state senator 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. 641. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an

 

election held under this act shall be held on 1 of the following

 

regular election dates:

 

     (a) The May regular election date, which is the first Tuesday

 

after the first Monday in May.

 

     (b) The August regular election date, which is the first

 

Tuesday after the first Monday in August.

 

     (c) The November regular election date, which is the first

 

Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

 

     (d) In each presidential election year when a statewide

 

presidential primary election is held, the date of the statewide

 

presidential primary election as provided in section 613a.

 

     (2) If an elective office is listed by name in section 643,

 

requiring the election for that office to be held at the general

 

election, and if candidates for the office are nominated at a

primary election, the primary election shall be held on the August

 

regular election date.

 

     (3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and

 

subsection (4), a special election shall be held on a regular

 

election date. A special election called by the governor under

 

section 145, 178, 632, or 633, or 634 to fill a vacancy or called

 

by the legislature to submit a proposed constitutional amendment as

 

authorized in section 1 of article XII of the state constitution of

 

1963 may, but is not required to be, held on a regular election

 

date.

 

     (4) A school district may call a special election to submit a

 

ballot question to borrow money, increase a millage, or establish a

 

bond if an initiative petition is filed with the county clerk. The

 

petition shall be signed by a number of qualified and registered

 

electors of the district equal to not less than 10% of the electors

 

voting in the last gubernatorial election in that district or 3,000

 

signatures, whichever number is lesser. Section 488 applies to a

 

petition to call a special election for a school district under

 

this section. In addition to the requirements set forth in section

 

488, the proposed date of the special election shall appear beneath

 

the petition heading, and the petition shall clearly state the

 

amount of the millage increase or the amount of the loan or bond

 

sought and the purpose for the millage increase or the purpose for

 

the loan or bond. The petition shall be filed with the county clerk

 

by 4 p.m. of the twelfth Tuesday before the proposed date of the

 

special election. The petition signatures shall be obtained within

 

60 days before the filing of the petition. Any signatures obtained

more than 60 days before the filing of the petition are not valid.

 

If the special election called by the school district is not

 

scheduled to be held on a regular election date as provided in

 

subsection (1), the special election shall be held on a Tuesday. A

 

special election called by a school district under this subsection

 

shall not be held within 30 days before or 35 days after a regular

 

election date as provided in subsection (1). A school district may

 

only call 1 special election pursuant to this subsection in each

 

calendar year.

 

     (5) The secretary of state shall direct and supervise the

 

consolidation of all elections held under this act.

 

     (6) This section shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"Hammerstrom election consolidation law".

 

     Enacting section 1. Section 634 of the Michigan election law,

 

1954 PA 116, MCL 168.634, is repealed.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless Senate Joint Resolution ____ or House Joint Resolution AA (request

 

no. 00119'17) of the 99th Legislature becomes a part of

 

the state constitution of 1963 as provided in section 1 of article

 

XII of the state constitution of 1963.