NOMINATIONS OF JUDGES: ALLOW
FILLING FEE IN LIEU OF SIGNATURES
House Bill 5893
Sponsor: Rep. LaMar Lemmons, Jr.
Committee: Judiciary
Complete to 3-23-10
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5893 AS INTRODUCED 2-24-10
The bill would allow a candidate for judge of either the circuit or district court to pay a filing fee – instead of filing nominating petitions – in order to be placed on the nonpartisan primary ballot.
Under Michigan’s election law, in order to be on the primary ballot as a candidate as a judge in either the district or circuit court, nominating petitions with the prescribed number of signatures, addresses, and dates of signing of qualified and registered electors must be filed with the Secretary of State by 4 p.m. of the 14th Tuesday before the primary.
House Bill 5893 would amend the Michigan Election Law to create an alternative process to the one stated above. Under the bill, instead of filing nominating petitions, a candidate for judge of the circuit court could pay a nonrefundable filing fee of $1,000 ($500 for a candidate of the district court) to the Secretary of State. The payment of the filing fee would have the same effect as filing the nominating petitions; that is, it would result in placement of the person’s name on the primary ballot.
MCL 168.413 et al.
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 5893 would have an indeterminate, but positive, fiscal impact on the Secretary of State. The provisions of the bill would allow a candidate for circuit court judge or district court judge to pay a nonrefundable filing fee to the Secretary of State in place of the filing of nominating positions. The nonrefundable filing fee would be $1000 for circuit court judge and $500 for district court judge.
Legislative Analyst: Susan Stutzky
Fiscal Analyst: Ben Gielczyk
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.