Bill Text: MI HB4560 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Elections; recall; recall petitions and procedures; revise. Amends secs. 951, 952 & 957 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.951 et seq.) & adds sec. 952b.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-12 - Printed Bill Filed 03/12/2009 [HB4560 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HB4560-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4560
March 11, 2009, Introduced by Rep. Ball and referred to the Committee on Ethics and Elections.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 951, 952, and 957 (MCL 168.951, 168.952, and
168.957), section 951 as amended by 1993 PA 45 and section 952 as
amended by 1993 PA 137, and by adding section 952b.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
951. Every elective officer in the this state, except a
judicial officer, is subject to recall by the voters of the
electoral district in which the officer is elected as provided in
this chapter. A recall petition shall not be filed nor shall recall
petition signatures be collected against an officer until the
officer has actually performed the duties of the office to which
elected for a period of 6 months during the current term of that
office. A recall petition shall not be filed against an officer
during the last 6 months of the officer's term of office. An
officer sought to be recalled shall continue to perform the duties
of
the his or her office until the result of the recall election is
certified.
Sec. 952. (1) A petition for the recall of an officer shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Comply with section 544c(1) and (2).
(b) Be printed.
(c) State clearly each reason for the recall. Each reason for
the recall shall be based upon the officer's conduct during his or
her current term of office. The reason for the recall may be
typewritten.
(d) Contain a certificate of the circulator. The certificate
of the circulator may be printed on the reverse side of the
petition.
(e) Be in a form prescribed by the secretary of state.
(2) Before being circulated, a petition for the recall of an
officer shall be submitted to the board of county election
commissioners of the county in which the officer whose recall is
sought resides. A filing fee of $50.00 shall be submitted with the
recall petition. The recall petition filing fee filed with the
board of county election commissioners under this subsection shall
be paid by that board of county election commissioners in its
proportionate share to the treasurer of each governmental unit
responsible for conducting the recall election. If the recall
petition filing fee is to be paid by the board of county election
commissioners to a governmental unit other than the county, the
board of county election commissioners shall withhold 10% of the
recall petition filing fee as an administrative fee.
(3) The board of county election commissioners, not less than
10 days or more than 20 days after submission to it of a petition
for the recall of an officer, shall meet and shall determine
whether each reason for the recall stated in the petition is of
sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose recall is sought and
the electors to identify the course of conduct that is the basis
for the recall. Failure of the board of county election
commissioners to comply with this subsection shall constitute a
determination that each reason for the recall stated in the
petition is of sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose
recall is being sought and the electors to identify the course of
conduct that is the basis for the recall.
(4) The board of county election commissioners, not later than
24 hours after receipt of a petition for the recall of an officer,
shall notify the officer whose recall is sought of each reason
stated in the recall petition and of the date of the meeting of the
board of county election commissioners to consider the clarity of
each reason.
(5) The officer whose recall is sought and the sponsors of the
recall petition may appear at the meeting and present arguments on
the clarity of each reason.
(6) The determination by the board of county election
commissioners may be appealed by the officer whose recall is sought
or by the sponsors of the recall petition drive to the circuit
court in the county. The appeal shall be filed not more than 10
days after the determination of the board of county election
commissioners.
(7) A recall petition that is determined to be of sufficient
clarity
under subsection (1) (3) or, if the determination under
subsection
(1) (3) is appealed pursuant to subsection (6), a recall
petition that is determined by the circuit court to be of
sufficient
clarity is valid for 180 90
days following the last
determination of sufficient clarity under this section. A recall
petition
that is filed under section 959 or 960 after the 180-day
90-day period described in this subsection is not valid and shall
not be accepted pursuant to section 961. This subsection does not
prohibit a person from resubmitting a recall petition for a
determination of sufficient clarity under this section.
Sec. 952b. (1) The reasons for recall that are determined to
be of sufficient clarity under section 952 shall be permanently
printed on each recall petition that is circulated for signatures.
(2) A person shall not circulate a recall petition that does
not comply with subsection (1). Any signature collected on a recall
petition that does not comply with subsection (1) or any other
provision of this act shall not be counted.
Sec. 957. (1) A person circulating a recall petition shall be
a qualified and registered elector in the electoral district of the
official
sought to be recalled. and
(2) A person circulating a recall petition shall attach
thereto
his to the recall petition a certificate of
the circulator
stating that he or she is a qualified and registered elector in the
electoral
district of the official sought to be recalled and shall
state
the city or the township wherein he resides and his post-
office
address; further, that stating
his or her city or township
and post office address. In addition, the certificate of the
circulator shall indicate all of the following:
(a) That signatures appearing upon the recall petition were
not
obtained through fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. and
that
(b) That he or she has neither caused nor permitted a person
to sign the recall petition more than once and has no knowledge of
a
person signing the recall petition more than once. ;
that
(c) That all signatures to the recall petition were affixed in
his
or her presence. ; and that
(d) That to the best of his or her knowledge, information, and
belief, the signers of the recall petition are qualified and
registered
electors and that the signatures appearing thereon on
the
recall petition are the genuine
signatures of the persons of
whom
they purport to be signing
the recall petition.
(3) A person who knowingly makes a false statement in the
certificate
hereby required of the
circulator is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or
a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both.