NEW 52ND DISTRICT JUDGESHIP - S.B. 257: COMMITTEE SUMMARY
Senate Bill 257 (as introduced 2-3-99)
Sponsor: Senator Bill Bullard, Jr.
Committee: Judiciary
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised Judicature Act (RJA) to allow an additional judgeship in the first division of the fifty-second judicial district. That division currently has three judges and consists of the Cities of Novi, South Lyon, Wixom, and Walled Lake and the Townships of Milford, Highland, Rose, White Lake, Commerce, Lyon, and Novi in Oakland County.
Under the bill, subject to Section 8175 of the RJA, the first division could have one additional judge effective January 1, 2001. (Section 8175 provides that additional district judgeships permitted by the RJA may not be authorized to be filled by election unless each district control unit approves the creation of the judgeship by resolution adopted by its governing body and the clerk of each district control unit files a copy of the resolution with the State Court Administrator by 4:00 p.m. of the 16th Tuesday preceding the August primary.)
The bill specifies that, if the new district judgeship authorized by the bill were approved by Oakland County, that new judgeship would have to appear on the ballot separate and apart from other judicial offices on the ballot in the primary and general election in that election division. If another judicial office of the same court were to be filled by election in the same division, a candidate for the new judgeship would have to indicate, at the time of filing nominating petitions, whether he or she was filing for the new judgeship or for one of the other judicial offices of the court to be filled by election in 2000. Petitions for a candidate for the new judgeship would have to bear signatures affixed to the petition after the date by which Oakland County adopted the resolution required by law to create the office.
MCL 600.8123 - Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
Based on the current salary of a district court judge, the State would incur the following annual costs:
| Salary | $118,285 |
| Social Security/Medicare | 6,440 |
| Defined Contribution Retirement | 8,280 |
| $133,005 |
The State also would incur approximately $6,000 in one-time costs for electronic recording equipment.
Local costs would depend on support staff allocated to the new judge and whether additional office/courtroom facilities would be required.
- Fiscal Analyst: B. BowermanS9900\s257sa
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.