CITY NOMINATING PETITION DEADLINE                                                            S.B. 329:

                                                                                  SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 329 (as introduced 5-12-15)

Sponsor:  Senator Jim Ananich

Committee:  Elections and Government Reform

Date Completed:  5-13-15

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to allow an adjustment to be made in the nominating petition filing deadline for candidates for city offices, if a city clerk published a filing deadline different from the deadline set in the Law and did not publicly correct the error within a certain time frame, and if the Bureau of Elections authorized the adjustment.

The Law requires nominating petitions for offices to be filled at the odd year general election to be filed by 4 p.m. on the 15^th Tuesday before the odd year primary election. The bill would make an exception to that requirement.

Until December 31, 2015, the bill would allow the nominating petition filing deadline for candidates for city offices to be adjusted if all of the following occurred:

-- The city clerk published a nominating petition filing deadline that was different from the 15^th Tuesday before the odd year primary election, and the published deadline was between the 15^th Tuesday and the 12^th Tuesday before the odd year primary.

-- The city clerk did not publicly correct the filing deadline error at least two weeks before the 15^th Tuesday before the odd year primary.

-- One or more candidates for city offices in that city relied upon the incorrect nominating petition filing deadline and failed to file nominating petitions by the 15^th Tuesday before the odd year primary.

If the Bureau of Elections confirmed that all of those conditions were met, the Bureau could authorize the city clerk to adjust the nominating petition filing deadline for that odd year primary election from the 15^th Tuesday before the primary to the incorrectly published deadline.

MCL 168.644f                                                            Legislative Analyst:  Suzanne Lowe

FISCAL IMPACT

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

                                                                                       Fiscal Analyst:  Joe Carrasco

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.