January 25, 2005, Introduced by Senator THOMAS and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82,
83, 84, 85, 86, 643, and 697 (MCL 168.71, 168.72, 168.74, 168.75,
168.76, 168.77, 168.78, 168.79, 168.80, 168.81, 168.82, 168.83,
168.84, 168.85, 168.86, 168.643, and 168.697), section 71 as
amended by 1999 PA 218, section 74 as amended by 1999 PA 216, and
section 643 as amended by 2003 PA 302.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
71. (1) A person shall is not be eligible to for
the offices of secretary of state, insurance commissioner, or
attorney
general if unless the person is not a registered and
qualified elector of this state by the date the person is nominated
for the office.
(2)
A person who has been convicted of a violation of
section
12a(1) of 1941 PA 370, MCL 38.412a, shall is not
be
eligible to the offices of secretary of state, insurance
commissioner, or attorney general for a period of 20 years after
conviction.
Sec. 72. At its fall state convention, each political party
may nominate a candidate for each of the offices of lieutenant
governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, and attorney
general.
Sec.
74. A person who has been certified by the state
central committee of any party as nominated for the office of
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, or
attorney general may withdraw by filing a written notice of
withdrawal with the secretary of state or his or her authorized
agent and a copy with the chairperson and the secretary of the
state central committee of the party not later than 4 p.m., eastern
standard time, of the fourth business day following the conclusion
of the convention at which the person was nominated.
Sec.
75. When If a candidate of a political party , after
having
been nominated to the office of
lieutenant governor,
secretary
of state, insurance commissioner, or attorney general ,
shall
die, withdraw, remove dies, withdraws, removes himself or
herself from the this state, or become becomes
disqualified,
for
any reason, the state central
committee of such the party
shall immediately meet forthwith and by a majority vote of the
members
thereof shall select a candidate to fill the vacancy.
thereby
caused. The name of the candidate
so selected shall be
immediately
certified by the chairman chairperson and the
secretary
of said the committee to the secretary of state and to
the
board of election commissioners for each county. whose duty it
is
to prepare the official ballots and said The board shall cause
to
be printed or placed upon said the official ballots, in the
proper place, the name of the candidate so selected to fill the
vacancy.
Sec. 76. A secretary of state, insurance commissioner, and
attorney
general shall be elected at the general election in 1964,
1966,
2006 and every fourth year
thereafter.
Sec. 77. The board of state canvassers shall determine which
candidates for the offices of secretary of state, insurance
commissioner, and attorney general have received the
greatest
number
of votes and shall declare such those candidates to be
duly
elected. The said board shall forthwith immediately make
and
subscribe on its statement of returns a certificate of such
its determination and deliver the same statement and certificate
to the secretary of state.
Sec. 78. The secretary of state shall file in his or her
office
and preserve the original statements and statement of
returns and certificate of the determination of the board of state
canvassers
of the results of the election and shall forthwith
immediately execute and cause to be delivered to the persons
thereby
declared by the statement and certificate to be elected to
the offices of secretary of state, insurance commissioner, and
attorney
general certificates of election, certified by him the
secretary
of state under the great seal of the
this state.
Sec. 79. The terms of office of the secretary of state,
insurance
commissioner, and attorney general shall
commence at 12
noon on January 1 next following the election , and
shall
continue
until a successor is elected and qualified. The terms of
office
of the secretary of state and attorney general elected at
the
general election in 1964 shall be 2 years. The terms term of
office of the secretary of state and attorney general elected at
the
general election in 1966 and every fourth year thereafter
shall
be is 4 years. The term of office of the insurance
commissioner elected at the general election in 2006 and every
fourth year thereafter is 4 years.
Sec.
80. Every A person elected to the office of secretary
of state, insurance commissioner, or attorney general, before
entering
upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe
to
the oath as provided in section 1 of article 11 XI of
the
state
constitution of 1963, and shall give bond in the amount and
manner
prescribed by law, and shall deposit said the
oath and
bond
with the secretary of state, except that any a
person
elected
to the office of secretary of state shall deposit said
the oath and bond with the attorney general.
Sec.
81. Any A person duly elected to the office of
secretary of state, insurance commissioner, or attorney general who
desires to resign shall file a written notice, containing the
effective
date of such the resignation, with the governor and a
copy with the office of the secretary of state.
Sec. 82. The office of secretary of state, insurance
commissioner, or attorney general shall become becomes
vacant
upon
the happening of any of the following events: Death of the
incumbent;
his incumbent's death,
resignation, ; his removal
from
office for cause, ; his ceasing to be a resident of the
state, ;
his or conviction of an infamous crime or an offense
involving the violation of his or her oath of office; upon the
decision of a competent tribunal declaring his or her election or
appointment void; or upon his or her neglect or refusal to take and
subscribe
to the constitutional oath of office and deposit the
same
oath in the manner and
within the time prescribed by law.
When
a vacancy shall occur Within 10 days after a vacancy occurs
in
any of the said these offices, a notice of such the
vacancy
and
the reason why the same vacancy exists shall , within 10
days
after such vacancy occurs, be
given in writing to the
governor.
Such The notice shall be given by the secretary of
state
unless such the vacancy occurs in the office of the
secretary
of state, then in which
case the notice shall be given
by the attorney general.
Sec.
83. Any A person holding the office of secretary of
state, insurance commissioner, or attorney general may be removed
from office upon conviction in impeachment proceedings for the
reasons
and in the manner set forth in section 7 of article 11 XI
of
the state constitution of 1963. The governor shall have the
power
and it shall be his duty, except at such times as Except
when the legislature may be is in
session, to the governor
shall examine into the condition and
administration of the
public
these offices and the acts
of the public these officers,
enumerated
herein, and to shall
remove the officers from office
for
gross neglect of duty, or for corrupt conduct in office, or
for any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein in office,
and
shall report the causes of such the
removal to the legislature at
its
next session as provided in section 10 of article 5 V of
the
state
constitution of 1963. Such The person shall be served
with
a written notice of the charges against him or her and be afforded
an opportunity for a public hearing conducted personally by the
governor.
Sec.
84. Whenever If a vacancy shall occur occurs
in the
office of secretary of state, insurance commissioner, or attorney
general,
the governor shall appoint a successor to fill such the
vacancy and the person so appointed shall take the oath of office,
give
bond in the manner required by law, and shall hold such
office
until his a successor is elected and qualified. The
candidate
receiving the highest number of votes for either of said
offices
who has subscribed to the
constitutional oath and filed
the
requisite bond shall be deemed is considered to be elected
and
qualified even though a vacancy occurs prior to the time he
shall
have entered before he or she enters upon the duties of his
office.
Sec.
85. The votes cast for any a candidate for the office
of
secretary of state, insurance
commissioner, or attorney general
at
any election shall be are
subject to recount as provided in
chapter
33 of this act XXXIII.
Sec.
86. Any A person elected to the office of secretary of
state, insurance commissioner, or attorney general shall be is
subject
to recall as provided in chapter 36 of this act XXXVI
and
in
section 8 of article 2 II of the state constitution of 1963.
Sec. 643. At the general election, the following officers
shall be elected when required by law:
(a) Presidential electors.
(b) In the state at large, a governor and a lieutenant
governor, a secretary of state, an insurance commissioner, and an
attorney general.
(c) A United States senator.
(d) In each congressional district, a representative in
congress.
(e) In each state senatorial district, a state senator.
(f) In each state representative district, a representative in
the state legislature.
(g) Justices of the supreme court.
(h) Two members of the state board of education.
(i) Two regents of the University of Michigan.
(j) Two trustees of Michigan State University.
(k) Two governors of Wayne State University.
(l) In each county or district, judges of the court of appeals,
a judge or judges of the circuit court, a judge or judges of
probate, a judge or judges of the district court, a prosecuting
attorney, a sheriff, a treasurer, an auditor, a mine inspector, a
county road commissioner, a drain commissioner, a surveyor, and,
subject to section 200, a clerk and a register of deeds or a clerk
register.
(m) Township officers.
(n) Any other officers required by law to be elected at that
election.
Sec.
697. At the general November election, the names of the
several
offices to be voted for shall be
placed on the ballot
substantially in the following order in the years in which
elections
for such the offices are held: Electors electors
of
president
and vice-president of the United States, ; governor and
lieutenant
governor, ; secretary of state, ;
insurance
commissioner, attorney general, ; United States
senator, ;
representative
in congress, ; senator and representative in the
state
legislature, ; members of the state board of education, ;
regents
of the university of Michigan, ;
trustees of Michigan
state
university, ; governors of Wayne
state university, ;
county
executive ; in counties
electing a county executive,
prosecuting
attorney, ; sheriff, ; clerk, ;
treasurer, ;
register
of deeds, ; auditor in counties electing an auditor, ;
mine
inspector in counties electing a mine inspector, ; county
road
commissioners, ; drain commissioners; coroners;
commissioner, and surveyor in counties electing a surveyor. The
following
township officers shall be placed on the same that
ballot
as above described in substantially the following order in
the year in which elections for such offices are held: supervisor,
clerk, treasurer, trustees, and constables.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Joint Resolution A
of the 93rd Legislature becomes a part of
the state constitution of 1963 as provided in section 1 of article
XII of the state constitution of 1963.