HOUSE BILL No. 4064

 

January 22, 2013, Introduced by Rep. Heise and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

     A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled

 

"Revised judicature act of 1961,"

 

by amending sections 832, 859, 1427, 2137, and 8344 (MCL 600.832,

 

600.859, 600.1427, 600.2137, and 600.8344), sections 859 and 8344

 

as amended by 2005 PA 326 and section 2137 as amended by 2009 PA

 

239, and by adding sections 1426 and 1428; and to repeal acts and

 

parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 832. (1) The probate judge or chief probate judge clerk

 

of the probate court shall have possession of the seal, records,

 

books, files, and papers belonging to the probate court in the

 

respective county or probate court district . Each judge shall keep

 

a true and correct record of each order, sentence, and decree of

 

the court, and of all other official acts made or done by him, and

 


of all wills proved therein with the probate thereof, of all

 

letters of authority and of all other things proper to be recorded

 

in the court.and, in accordance with supreme court rules, shall

 

maintain every record created by or filed with the probate court.

 

     (2) The records, except as otherwise provided by law, may be

 

inspected without charge by all persons interested.

 

     (3) The probate court shall maintain an alphabetical index to

 

the records of probate court proceedings in each county.

 

     Sec. 859. (1) The following testimony before a probate judge

 

shall be recorded:

 

     (a) Testimony in contested matters.

 

     (b) Testimony in matters pertaining to the admission to a

 

hospital or other facility for mentally ill or developmentally

 

disabled persons.

 

     (c) Testimony in matters pertaining to persons having a

 

contagious disease.

 

     (d) Testimony in other matters if requested by an interested

 

party.

 

     (e) Testimony and other proceedings required by supreme court

 

rule.

 

     (2) In matters not governed by subsection (1), testimony

 

before a probate judge, probate register, or deputy probate

 

register may be given orally without a record being made of the

 

testimony.

 

     (3) The court shall keep sufficient index of the testimony and

 

the court shall keep the index and the original notes for at least

 

10 years as prescribed by supreme court rules. The reporter or

 


recorder need not transcribe the testimony unless a transcript is

 

ordered by the court or a party. Except in those cases in which the

 

testimony is transcribed and filed with the record of the case,

 

notes pertaining to a hearing for the admission of any person to a

 

hospital or other place of detention as a mentally ill or

 

developmentally disabled person or as a person with a contagious

 

disease shall be destroyed only after the discharge of the person

 

from the hospital or facility.

 

     (4) Notes may not be destroyed until after 10 years after the

 

date of the hearing or as provided in subsection (3), whichever is

 

longer.

 

     Sec. 1426. (1) A court may charge a reasonable fee, as

 

established by the supreme court, for providing enhanced access.

 

     (2) A court may provide enhanced access in accordance with a

 

written agreement without charging a fee to another court or to a

 

public agency. A written agreement under this subsection shall

 

contain all of the following:

 

     (a) A statement specifying that the court or public agency

 

receiving access to or output from the system without charge is

 

prohibited from selling or providing access to the system's output

 

to a third party, except in accordance with the written agreement.

 

     (b) A statement specifying the public purpose for which access

 

to or output from the system is being provided.

 

     (c) Provisions regarding the return of output from the system.

 

     (d) The duration of the agreement and the method by which the

 

agreement may be rescinded or terminated by either party before the

 

stated date of termination.

 


     (3) Before providing enhanced access, a court shall adopt an

 

enhanced access policy under the requirements prescribed by the

 

supreme court.

 

     (4) This section does not require a court to provide enhanced

 

access.

 

     (5) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Enhanced access" means access to a court through

 

electronic means for pleadings, practice, and procedure, including,

 

but not limited to, access to its case records as prescribed by

 

supreme court rules.

 

     (b) "Operating expense" includes, but is not limited to, a

 

court's direct cost of creating, maintaining, processing, and

 

upgrading access to the court through electronic means, including

 

the cost of computer hardware and software, system development,

 

employee time, and the actual cost of providing the access.

 

     (c) "Reasonable fee" means a charge calculated to enable a

 

court to recover over time those operating expenses directly

 

related to the court's provision of enhanced access.

 

     Sec. 1427. All writs, process, proceedings and records in any

 

court within this state , shall be in the English language, (

 

except that the proper and known names of process, and technical

 

words, may be expressed in the language heretofore and now commonly

 

used, ), and shall be made out on paper, in a fair, legible

 

character, in words at length, and not abbreviated; but such

 

abbreviations as are now commonly used in the English language may

 

be used, and numbers may be expressed by Arabic figures, or Roman

 

numerals, in the customary manner.in the manner and on any medium

 


authorized by supreme court rules. If a signature is required on

 

any document filed with or created by a court, that requirement is

 

satisfied by an electronic signature as prescribed by supreme court

 

rules.

 

     Sec. 1428. (1) The state court administrative office shall

 

establish and maintain records management policies and procedures

 

for the courts, including a records retention and disposal

 

schedule, in accordance with supreme court rules. The record

 

retention and disposal schedule shall be developed and maintained

 

as prescribed in section 5 of 1913 PA 271, MCL 399.5.

 

     (2) Subject to the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL

 

24.401 to 24.406, a court may dispose of any record as prescribed

 

in subsection (1).

 

     (3) A record, regardless of its medium, shall not be disposed

 

of until the record has been in the custody of the court for the

 

retention period established under subsection (1).

 

     (4) A court may assess a reasonable fee associated with the

 

creation, reproduction, retrieval, and retention of its records

 

only as prescribed by the supreme court.

 

     (5) As used in this section, "record" means information of any

 

kind that is recorded in any manner and that has been created by a

 

court or filed with a court in accordance with supreme court rules.

 

     Sec. 2137. (1) If a public officer reproduces court records

 

kept by him or her pursuant to the records reproduction act, 1992

 

PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406, the officer may offer the original

 

records to the department or state agency responsible for

 

maintaining the state archives for placement in the state archives.

 


If the department or state agency responsible for maintaining the

 

state archives accepts the offer within 30 days, the court shall

 

transfer the records to that department or state agency. If the

 

department or state agency responsible for maintaining the state

 

archives does not accept the offer within 30 days, the court may

 

dispose of or destroy the records in the manner provided for state

 

agencies under sections 285 and 287 of the management and budget

 

act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1285 and 18.1287, and section 5 of 1913 PA

 

271, MCL 399.5. The record of a court shall not be disposed of or

 

destroyed until the record has been in the custody of the court for

 

not less than 6 years.

 

     (2) In a county or probate court district in which the county

 

board or boards of commissioners pass a resolution or resolutions

 

for reproducing records pursuant to the records reproduction act,

 

1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406, the judge of probate may have

 

the records of the probate court reproduced in accordance with the

 

resolution or resolutions. The judge of probate shall have a copy

 

or a duplicate kept in a building outside of the probate office and

 

shall keep a copy available in the probate office with any suitable

 

equipment necessary for displaying the record at not less than its

 

original size or for preparing copies for persons entitled to

 

copies. The judge of probate then may order a record destroyed. A

 

reproduction in a medium pursuant to under the records reproduction

 

act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406, or a reproduction

 

consisting of a printout or other output readable by sight from

 

such a medium is admissible as evidence before a court, commission,

 

or administrative body the same as the original . The original file

 


of an estate proceeding shall not be destroyed until 6 years after

 

the date the discharge of the fiduciary is filed or 10 years after

 

the last document is filed, whichever occurs first.

 

     (3) A court of record other than the district court may order

 

the destruction of a court reporter or recorder note, tape, or

 

recording 15 years after the date that the note, tape, or recording

 

was made for a felony case and 10 years after the date that the

 

note, tape, or recording was made for any other case. One year

 

after a transcript of a note, tape, or recording is filed with the

 

court, the court may order the destruction of the note, tape, or

 

recording. If a transcript of a trial or other proceeding in a

 

court of record other than the district court is ordered other than

 

for filing in the case file, the court reporter or recorder also

 

shall prepare and shall file a certified copy of the transcript in

 

the case file at the expense of the person ordering the transcript

 

unless a copy has been filed with the court or unless the chief

 

judge of the court orders otherwise in an order filed in the case

 

file. As used in this subsection, "felony case" does not include

 

proceedings in a case that occur before arraignment on information

 

or indictment or proceedings in a case in which the defendant is

 

not convicted of a felony.

 

     (4) Except as provided in subsection (3), a judicial circuit

 

of the circuit court may order the destruction of its files and

 

records in a case in which action has not been taken during the 25

 

years immediately preceding the order of destruction. All of the

 

following procedures shall be followed before the issuance of an

 

order of destruction of circuit court files and records:

 


     (a) The judgment or decree, if any, shall be reproduced

 

pursuant to the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401

 

to 24.406, or separated and retained, and the original or

 

reproduction shall be made available for public inspection.

 

     (b) The circuit court shall offer the files and records,

 

subject to the order of destruction, to the Michigan historical

 

commission established by section 1 of 1913 PA 271, MCL 399.1, or a

 

historical commission created under section 2 of 1957 PA 213, MCL

 

399.172. If the historical commission accepts the offer within 30

 

days, the circuit court shall transfer the files and records to the

 

historical commission. If the historical commission does not accept

 

the offer within 30 days, the circuit court shall issue an order of

 

destruction.

 

     (5) A reproduction of a record in a medium pursuant to the

 

records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406, or a

 

reproduction consisting of a printout or other output readable by

 

sight from such a medium, made as provided by law, and has the same

 

force and effect as the original would have had and shall be

 

treated as an original for the purpose of admissibility in

 

evidence. A duly certified or authenticated copy of the

 

reproduction shall be admitted into evidence equally with the

 

original reproduction.

 

     (6) Except for records described in subsection (3), this This

 

section only applies to records filed with the court and maintained

 

by the court clerk or register.

 

     Sec. 8344. Except as provided in this section, not less than 6

 

years after the entry of a judgment in a civil action, including a

 


summary proceeding, or in an ordinance violation case or a criminal

 

case in the district court, the court may dispose of documents,

 

records, recordings, and notes related to that action, except the

 

register of actions pursuant to a schedule adopted by the state

 

administrative board. The court may order the destruction of

 

documents, records, recordings, and notes related to a civil

 

infraction action not less than 3 years after the entry of a

 

finding in the action. The court may order the destruction of

 

notes, tapes, and recordings that have been transcribed and filed

 

with the court 1 year after the date of the filing of the

 

transcript. The register of actions shall be in a form adequate to

 

reveal, in summary fashion, the general nature of the action and

 

judgment. After the disposal of the documents, records, recordings,

 

and notes, the register of actions or a certified reproduction of

 

the register of actions pursuant to the records media act is the

 

official record of the action and judgment. The validity and

 

enforceability of a judgment are not affected by the destruction of

 

the piece of paper upon which the judgment is entered, but the

 

register of actions itself, or a certified reproduction of the

 

register of actions pursuant to under the records reproduction act,

 

1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406, is a complete replacement of the

 

judgment and the records of the action. This section applies to

 

judgments all of the following:

 

     (a) Judgments of municipal and common pleas courts abolished

 

after January 1, 1969, if the judgment was entered or the action

 

disposed of after January 1, 1969. This section applies to actions

 

     (b) Actions entered in the small claims division of the

 


district court, except that a register of actions need is not

 

required to be preserved or maintained after destruction of the

 

file.

 

     Enacting section 1. 1949 PA 66, MCL 780.221 to 780.225, is

 

repealed.