HOUSE BILL No. 5436


     February 23, 2000, Introduced by Reps. Baird, Schauer, Callahan, Switalski, LaForge and Jacobs and referred to the
Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics.


        A bill to amend 1947 PA 359, entitled

   "The charter township act,"

   by amending sections 4 and 5 (MCL 42.4 and 42.5), section 4 as

   amended by 1998 PA 101 and section 5 as amended by 1986 PA 34.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 4.  (1) Candidates for township office in charter town-

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      ships shall be nominated at  the  A general OR NONPARTISAN pri-

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      mary election held in the township before each general election

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      at which township officers are to be elected.  A CHARTER TOWNSHIP

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      BY ITS CHARTER MAY PROVIDE FOR THE NONPARTISAN PRIMARY ELECTION

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      OF TOWNSHIP OFFICERS. The primary election shall be conducted, as

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      near as  may be  POSSIBLE, pursuant to the Michigan election law,

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      1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 to 168.992.






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           (2) Duties of the county clerk in the conduct of primary

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      elections shall be performed by the township clerk with respect

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      to the nomination of township officers.  , and the 

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           (3) THE duties of the county board of election commissioners

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      shall be performed for each township by a board of township elec-

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      tion commissioners to be composed of the township clerk and the 2

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      trustees appointed by the township board.

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           Sec. 5.  (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, all

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      legislative authority and powers of each charter township shall

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      be vested in and shall be exercised and determined by a township

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      board of 7 members composed of the supervisor, the township

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      clerk, the township treasurer, and 4 trustees who shall be elec-

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      tors in the township.  If  the provisions of  this act  are
    IS

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      adopted, the township board as constituted at the time of the

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      adoption of this act shall constitute the township board until

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      the first general election at which township officers are elected

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      after the adoption of this act.

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           (2) All members of the township board shall be elected under

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       the provisions of  the Michigan election law,  Act No. 116 of

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      the Public Acts of 1954, being sections 168.1 to 168.992 of the

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      Michigan Compiled Laws  1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 TO 168.992.  If 2

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      additional trustees are required to be elected, they shall be

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      elected at the next general election.  If the next general elec-

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      tion is not a regular township election, each additional trustee

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      shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next regu-

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      lar township election and qualifies for office.





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           (3) A CHARTER TOWNSHIP BY ITS CHARTER MAY PROVIDE FOR

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      STAGGERED ELECTIVE TERMS OF ITS BOARD MEMBERS AS PROVIDED IN

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      SECTION 358 OF THE MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW, 1954 PA 116, MCL

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      168.358.

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           (4)  (2)  The elected township board described in subsection

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      (1) shall be the successor to the prior township board of the

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      township and shall possess the powers and perform the duties of

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      township boards in townships in addition to the powers granted by

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      law to charter townships.

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           (5) As a member of the township board, the supervisor  shall

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      be  IS the presiding and executive officer of the board and

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       shall have  HAS an equal voice and vote in the proceedings of

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      the board.  The supervisor shall authenticate by his or her sig-

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      nature any instruments  which  THAT the TOWNSHIP board and the

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      laws of  the  THIS state or the federal government may require.

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      If the supervisor is absent from a meeting of the township board,

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      the TOWNSHIP board shall appoint 1 of its members president pro

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      tem for that meeting.  The township clerk shall be clerk of the

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      township board and shall keep a full record of all the proceed-

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      ings of the township board.  In the absence of the clerk, the

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      TOWNSHIP board shall appoint 1 of its members as temporary clerk

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      for that meeting.

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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. 5437

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      (request no. 00685'99 a) of the 90th Legislature is enacted into

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      law.





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