JUDGESHIPS

House Bill 5121 (Substitute H-1)    

Sponsor:  Rep. John Walsh

House Bill 5122 (Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Joe Haveman

House Bill 5123 (Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Kevin Cotter

House Bill 5124 (Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Tom Leonard

House Bill 5125 (Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Kurt Heise

Committee:  Judiciary

Complete to 12-4-13

A PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILLS 5121-5125 AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE

The bill would amend several sections of the Revised Judicature Act, based on the 2013 Judicial Resources Recommendations (JRR) report of the Supreme Court Administrative Office.  The following table summarizes these judgeship changes by bill:

 

Bill Number	Location	County/City	Addition/Reduction
HB 5121	16th Judicial Circuit	Macomb County	+2 circuit judges
HB 5122	6th Judicial Circuit	Oakland County	+1 circuit judge
HB 5123	17th Judicial Circuit	Kent County	+1 circuit judge
	18th and 29th District	18th – City of Westland 29th – City of Wayne	Consolidation – net effect is 0 judges (Effective 1/2/2015)
	27th and 28th District	27th – Cities of Wyandotte and Riverview 28th – City of Southgate	Consolidation – net effect is 0 judges (Effective 1/2/2015)
HB 5124	3rd Judicial Circuit	Wayne County	-4 circuit judges
HB 5125	63rd District	Kent County	+1 district judge
	67th and 68th District	67th – Genesee County 68th – City of Flint	Consolidation – net effect is 0 judges
	70th District	Saginaw County	-1 district judge

The bills appear to call for a total of 5 additions and 5 reductions in judgeships in various areas of the state.  The bills would add four circuit court judgeships and one district court judgeship; and would reduce circuit court judgeships by four and district court judgeships by one.  These changes result in a net change of zero additional judgeships to the state. 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The state pays for the salaries, payroll taxes, and retirement benefits for circuit and district court judges.  Fringe benefits, personnel costs, and costs for supplies, equipment, and space are paid for by the local court system.  Each circuit court judgeship costs the state $158,791.  This amount includes the circuit court judge’s salary of $139,919, payroll taxes of $9,078, and retirement costs of $9,794.  Each district court judgeship costs the state$157,005.  This amount includes the district court judge’s salary of $138,272, payroll taxes of $9,054, and retirement costs of $9,679.  Local costs vary from circuit to circuit and district to district.

  

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   Susan Stutzky

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Robin Risko

■ 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.