HOUSE BILL No. 4685


     May 1, 2001, Introduced by Reps. George, Richner, Vear, Toy, Drolet and Gilbert and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture and Resource Management.


        A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

   "Michigan election law,"

   by amending section 200 (MCL 168.200), as amended by 1998

   PA 364.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 200.  (1) A county clerk, a county treasurer, a regis-

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      ter of deeds, a prosecuting attorney, a sheriff, a drain commis-

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      sioner, and a surveyor shall be elected at the 2000 general

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      November election and every fourth year after that.  However, in

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      a county in  which 1 of these offices  SUCH AN OFFICE is

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      abolished,  or  combined, OR APPOINTIVE as provided by law,  no
   

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      A person shall NOT be elected to that office in that county.

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           (2) Subject to subsections (3), (4), and (5), a county board

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      of commissioners may by resolution combine the offices of county

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      clerk and register of deeds in 1 office of the clerk register or


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      separate the office of the clerk register into the offices of

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      county clerk and register of deeds.  A combination or separation

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      of offices shall not take effect before the expiration of the

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      current term of the affected offices.

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           (3) Before adopting a resolution to combine the offices of

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      county clerk and register of deeds or separate the office of

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      clerk register into the offices of county clerk and register of

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      deeds, a county board of commissioners shall study the question

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      of combining or separating the offices.  The  mandatory  require-

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      ments of this subsection may be satisfied by conducting a public

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      hearing pursuant to subsection (4).

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           (4) The county board of commissioners as a whole body shall

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      hold  not less than  AT LEAST 1 public hearing,  held 
   subject to

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      the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275, on the

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      question of combining or separating the offices of county clerk

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      and register of deeds.  The county board of commissioners may

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      vote on the question as a regularly scheduled agenda item not

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      less than 10 days or more than 30 days after the last public

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      hearing held by the county board of commissioners on the

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      question.

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           (5) Not later than the sixth Tuesday before the deadline for

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      filing the nominating petitions for the office of county clerk,

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      register of deeds, or clerk register, the county board of commis-

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      sioners may by a vote of 2/3 of the commissioners elected and

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      serving combine the offices of county clerk and register of deeds

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      or separate the office of the clerk register.  The resolution

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      shall become effective upon the commencement of the next term of



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      office of the county clerk, register of deeds, or clerk register

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      after the adoption of the resolution.

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           Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act does not take

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      effect unless Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 4686

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      (request no. 00790'01 *) of the 91st Legislature is enacted into

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      law.












































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