SCHOOL ELECTIONS S.B. 774: FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 774 (as reported with amendments) Sponsor: Senator George A. McManus, Jr.
Committee: Government Operations
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to place in that Law provisions for conducting school elections, including provisions regarding the canvassing of school elections by local officials, filling vacancies on a school board, and submitting election questions to a district’s voters; limit the dates upon which school elections could be held; prescribe the payments that school districts would have to make to local units for conducting a school election; require a school board to submit a question to the vote of the district’s electors upon receipt of petitions signed by 5% or more of the registered electors of the district, but not less than 25 electors; allow a school board to submit a question to a vote of the electors; and provide that a question would have to be submitted at a special election held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in April, August, or November.
The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bill 773, which would repeal parts of the School Code that govern school elections, and specify that a school annual election would have to be held at the November general election; and Senate Bill 775 and House Bill 4373, which would amend the Election Law to provide for the conduct of school elections by local units of government. Senate Bill 774 would take effect January 1, 1999.
Proposed MCL 168.16 et al. Legislative Analyst: G. Towne
Senate Bills 773 (S-2), 774, and 775 would have no fiscal impact on State government.
The bills could result in savings to school districts by requiring school board elections to take place at November general elections and coordinating special school elections with local units of government. Savings would depend on agreements between local units of government and school boards on what constituted valid costs of conducting elections compared with costs under the current system. Senate Bill 774 provides that if a special school election called by a school board were not held in conjunction with any other election held in the county, city, or township, the school district would have to pay 105% of the actual costs of conducting the election.
There are 555 K-12 school districts and 57 intermediate school districts in Michigan. There were 1,074 school millage elections in 1994 and 641 school millage elections in 1995.
Date Completed: 3-15-96 Fiscal Analyst: B. Bowerman
E. Pratt
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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.