LEGISLATIVE INTERVENTION IN CASES                                                           H.B. 6553:

                                                                               SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

House Bill 6553 (as passed by the House)

Sponsor:  Representative Rob VerHeulen

House Committee:  Government Operations

Senate Committee:  Government Operations

Date Completed:  12-11-18

CONTENT

The bill would amend Chapter 2 (Of the Legislature) of the Revised Statutes of 1846 to authorize the Legislature and each house of the Legislature to intervene in any action commenced in any State court whenever that house or the Legislature deemed it necessary to protect a right or interest of the State or of that body.

Specifically, the bill would authorize and empower the Legislature and each house of the Legislature to intervene in any action commenced in any State court whenever that house or the Legislature deemed it necessary to protect any right or interest of the State or of that body.  The right to intervene would exist at any stage of the proceeding, and the Legislature and each house of the Legislature would have the same right to prosecute an appeal, or to apply for a rehearing or to take any other action or step whatsoever that was had or possessed by any of the parties to the litigation.

The right to intervene would apply to all matters pending in any court of the State as of the bill's effective date, or any filed later in a court of the State.

The bill would be self-executing but each house of the Legislature could adopt rules or policies to facilitate operation of the bill.

MCL 4.82a                                                                      Legislative Analyst:  Jeff Mann

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill could create a cost for the Legislature related to the number of cases and the complexity of the cases in which the Legislature chose to intervene. Costs could be increased due to the need to hire additional legal staff or hire outside legal counsel, either of which would add costs for the Legislature. The costs are indeterminate and would depend on the number of cases in which the Legislature intervened and the number of additional staff or outside legal counsel that could be hired.  Currently, the average cost for an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan for salary and wages is just under $200,000 per attorney, per year.

                                                                                       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.