LEGAL NOTICE FEES: ANNUAL INCREASE S.B. 236:
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
Senate Bill 236 (as introduced 2-28-13)
Sponsor: Senator Tonya Schuitmaker
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised Judicature Act (RJA) to delete a sunset on the annual rate-of-inflation increase in fees for publishing a legal notice or an order, citation, summons, advertisement, or other matter arising out of judicial proceedings required by law to be published in a newspaper.
The fees currently set in statute were established by Public Act 506 of 2006, which took effect on March 1, 2007. Under that provision, each year for five years beginning March 1, 2008, those rates were required to be adjusted by the increase in the U.S. consumer price index for the preceding year, and rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents. Under the bill, the rates would have to be adjusted annually.
The fees established in the RJA and the current fees as adjusted are shown in Table 1.
Table 1
|
Notice |
Statutory Fee |
Current Adjusted Fee |
|
Max. cost per folio for first insertion |
$20.50 |
$21.75 |
|
Max. cost per folio for each subsequent insertion |
$8.45 |
$8.95 |
|
Min. allowable cost for a notice that must appear at least twice |
$59.00 |
$92.10 |
|
Min. allowable cost for a notice that must appear only once |
$44.00 |
$65.25 |
The bill also would refer to the maximum and minimum costs per folio for the first and each subsequent publication, rather than insertion.
MCL 600.2534 Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
By continuing to require adjustments in the rate parameters by the annual change in the consumer price index, the bill could marginally increase costs to local units that are required by law to publish in local newspapers legal notices or other documents related to legal proceedings.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.