TitleBytes News & Happenings
Legislature Recessed for the Summer and Upcoming Special Primaries
Aug 7, 2017
Cami Pendell, JD
Michigan Legislative Consultants
As of July 12th, the Legislature started its summer recess. Prior to leaving, the legislature tackled many notable pieces of legislation and passed the state’s budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18. Of direct interest to MLTA, the legislature passed and the Governor signed into law legislation which will eliminate the requirement for males to list their material status on instruments conveying or mortgaging property interests. This new law is PA 54 of 2017. Following summer recess, the Senate will return back to Session on September 5th and the House will begin on Sept. 6th.
While the Legislature is out of Session, there will be two special primary elections taking place on August 8th to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives. One vacancy is in the 1st House District, which includes Harper Woods, Grosse Pointe Woods and portions of Detroit. This seat is vacant because Brian Banks resigned from office due to legal issues. The second vacancy is in the 109th House District, which includes Marquette, Alger, Schoolcraft and Luce Counties. This seat is vacant because tragically then-Rep. John Kivela took his own life. Both districts have solid democratic bases so it’s very unlikely that Republicans will be able to capture these seats. Following the special primaries, the special general elections will take place in November after which the new members can take office.
In addition to these vacancies, there could be up to two additional vacancies created during the summer months. Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Twp.) is a candidate for an appointment to the US Department of Education and Sen. Mike Green (R-Mayville) is in the running for a US Department of Agriculture appointment. If selected by President Trump for these positions, the legislators will need to resign from their current state offices to take the federal appointments. Stay tuned to future TitleBytes to receive information regarding these possible appointments.