Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 1966.03.15 - 19717Miscellaneous Resolution 4549 March 16 1 1966 BY: Mr. Case IN RE: REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON COUNTY HOME RULE, SUBSTITUTE S.B. 112 REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REAPPORTIONMENT OF COUNTY BOARDS, SUBSTITUTE H.B. 2774 TO THE OAKLAND COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: Pending legislation concerning County Home Rule and Reapportionment of Count y Boards is of vital interest to every member of this Board of Supervisors. Your Home Rule Study Committee has studied diligently these matters and wishes to report herewith on S.B. 112 and H.B. 2774, copies of which were distributed to Board members. The new Constitution approved by the voters in 1963 authorizes the people of an y county, on a local option basis, to adopt a home rule charter form of government. However, the constitutional provision is not self-executing and requires enabling legislation. In the 1964 Session of the Legislature, the first following the effective date of the new Constitution, five charter-county enabling bills were introduced. The bills were based on the proposals of three groups — the Wayne County Board of Supervisors, the United County Officers Association and the Governor's Study Committee on County Home Rule. One of the Wayne County bills was adopted by the Senate after a number of amendments which substantially modified the original, but it failed to receive approval in the House All of the other count y home rule bills in the 1964 legislative session died in committee in the house of origin. The bill now receiving consideration is Substitute Senate Bill No. 112, passed by the Senate in the 1965 Session, and may or may not come up for action in the present legislative session. There are a number of reasons why your Home Rule Study Committee has not been able to recommend this bill to the Board, including the provision which stipulates that the number of members of any county board of supervisors shall be not more than 9 in a county of 600,000 population". Another objection is the fact that the provision for partisan election of al l constitutional offices is mandatory. It is the view of this Home Rule Study Committee that what is required is essentially true permissive legislation, which can be tailored by each county to fit the needs and circumstances. Recognition of this principle would result in leaving to the charter commission of each county the opportunity of presenting to the county electorate the questions as to whether, for example: A. Boards of supervisors should be elected on a partisan or non-partisan basis. The manner of selection of county executives if such an executive is proposed. C. The power to provide municipal services as between the county and existing units of government and or municipal service units. D. The size of the board of supervisors and any district re-apportionment involved should be a matter of local determination, subject only to legislative guide lines as to maximum and minimum numbers based upon population classifications. E. Organization of county government should be left to local charter. The Committee leaves open the question of taxing powers for the county, pending the outcome of fiscal tax reform studies which are only temporarily sidetracked. It is the consensus of the Home Rule Study Committee, if a bill is not forthcoming in the present Session of the Legislature, that the Committee undertake, in cooperation with the County Legislative Committee, the act of formulation of a bill for presentation to the Board of Supervisors to become a part of the County's legislative program. In reference to Re-apportionment House Bill 2774, which would re-apportion county boards, we feel it is in violation of the State Constitution and derogates the power of the Supreme Court since the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on the Kent County case. Herbert A. Srnitr We support the bill with the following changes: 1. We are opposed to Section 3. We feel no county or state official or employee should serve on the Apportionment Commission. 2. We feel the County Apportionment Commission should consist of 2 persons designated by the Executive Committee of each political party which received at least 10% of the vote for governor at the last general election and one additional member selected by a majority of those members chosen by their respective political executive committees. In the event this body cannot agree upon the additional member within a period of 15 days from the date of their first official meeting, the apportionment body shall be discharged and a new apportionment body shall be appointed in the manner provided. The bill as written does not set a population standard which we feel is necessary. We suggest the following guide lines: All districts shall be not more than 10% under or over the average in order to confine a district within a municipality. 2. We feel that re-districting should be given more consideration in the State Legislature than has been given at the present time because of the great changes that it will bring about in our county government. After careful deliberation we feel that Oakland County has been successful in its operation for many years and we would not want to see hasty legislation throw it into a state of chaos. MR. CHAIRMAN, on behalf of the Home Rule Study Committee of the Oakland County Board of Supervisors, I move the adoption of the foregoing report and the recommenda- tions contained therein, and that this Board approve the forwarding by the Legislative Committee of certified copies to each Oakland County Legislator. HOME RULE STUDY COMMITTEE I - Homer Case, Chairm n Arthur T. Laurie Frank F. Webber John H. King Harriett Phillips 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 1 County Population No, Sec. 2. Repori of Standing Commit tees. • • The convihitt(g? on ApportiiilltUent.. Stettupi*:thi, Chairrria A tia 10 prUVide jor Inc arioortionstieut of. the. i.xottity tsiarda of supervisors; and to prescrit* the manner -of n ef lan.iiittiors O corey .1“,arkt ,,upervisors. With the .re,..vannendatk ,,n, that the roUoii.ihg substitute .hie itilopteti and the toll then, pass. • , ropi,r7,,11 A bill to provide for the apportionment, of count y boards of super- visors; to prescribe the sizk..;ti. prv.scribe the manner of election of the members of the co.u;l ird f supOrVir5 an.} to rE.:peal certain acts and parts of acts. THE PEOPLE .OF THE STATE OF MICII LUAN 1 Sec. 1. On or bef“re -.41-44.4 4- May 15, 15“36 and within 60 Jars 2 after the publication of Ow Imest IThited Sr. offHal cc .n.su:s 3 figures, the county app ,rt_ionm,-.,nt cornrni -ion iii ea,l. ,;ounty of this state shall apportion the county into not less than 5 nor more than 40 county supervior districts as yr-H .1y of equal population as is practicable and wi!bin tIn limitati:YEs of :ection 2. Not Not Not Not Not of Supervisors more than • more than 10 more than 15 more than 20 more than 25 26. to 30 31 to 35 36 to 40 1,000 to 5,000 5,001 to 10,000 - 10,001 to 50,600 50,001 to 105,000 105,001 to 160,000 160.001 to 250,000 2rio-fi0i to 500,000 Over 500,001 See, 3. The county apporti ,-inment commission shall consist of 2 the county clerk, the county trasurer and the provcuting attorney. 3 The clerk shall convene the apportionment coturnisi,ioIt and th e y 4 shall adopt their rules f proo(dure. Any 2 nwmbers of the appor- 5 tionment commission shall he a quorum sufficient to conduct its 6-- business. All action of the apportionment commission shall be by 7 majority vote. 1 Sec. 4. In apportioning the county into supervisor districts, 2 the county apportionment (.mmission shall be governed by the 3 following guidelines in the stated order of importance: 4 (a) All districts shall be single-member districts and as nearly 5 of equal population as is practicable. The latest official published 6 figures of the United States official census shall be used in this T determination. The secretary of state shall furnish the latest 8 official published figures to the county apportionment—cemmia-:- 9 sions forthwith upon this Act taking effect, and within 15 days 10 after publication of subsequent United States official census fig- 11 urea. Except in cases requiring division Of official census units 12. to meet the population standard, an actual population count may 13 be used to make such division. Other governmental census fig- Page 2 14 urea of total population may he ued if talccm subsequent to the 15 last decennial Fnit'ed States census and the United St-ates census 16 figures are not adequate for the purposes of this act. 17 A contract may hi= entered inti with the r nit(=1 States census 13 bureau , to make any siwcial census if the latest United States 19 decennial census fii..,7urf.s are not ad equate. 20 (b) All districts shall be c.ntig -uus by land or water. 21 (c) All districts shall be as compact and of as nearly square 22 shape as is practicable, depending on the geography of the county 23 area involved. 24 (d) No township or part thereof shall be combined with any 25 city or part thereof for a single district, unless such combination 2$ is needed to meet the population standard. 27 (e) Townships, villages and cities shall be divided only if 28 necessary to meet the population standard. 29 (f) Precincts shall be divided only if necessary to meet the 30 population standard. 1 Sec. 5. The apportionment plan approved by the commission 2._-..shall be-filed irt-the• of-thp-rmInt-v- clerk—ar.-whic-h time it shall 3 become effective, and copi es of it shall be forthwith forwarded 4 by the .county clerk to tho s.cretarY of state for filing and shall 5 be made available at cost to any registered 7...tPr of the county. 1 Sec. 6. Any registered voter of the county, within 30 days 2 after the filing of the piau for his county, or if the apportionment 3 commission has failed to submit a plan for his county within 60 4 days but not less than 30 days after the latest official published 5•census figures are available, may petition the court of appeals to 6 review such plan to determine if the plan meets the requirements 7 of the laws of this state or to submit a plan for approval if the 8 commission has failed to submit a plan. Every such petition must 9 be accompanied by an apportionment plan submitted by the 10 petitioner. 1 Sec. 7. The court of appeals, in reviewing the plans, may 2 choose from among those submitted or may on its own - motion 3 approve a substitute plan, but such choice must be on the basis 4 of which plan most closely complies with the provisions of this 5 act. Any finding of the court of appeals may be appealed to the 6 supreme court of the state as provided by law. Page 3 1 Sec, S. Once an apportionment plan has been found constitu- 2 •tional and according to the provisions of this act and all appeals 3 have been exhausted, that plan shall be the official apportionment 4 plan for the county until the next iThited States official census 5 figures are available. 1 See. 9. The electors of each district established i n accordance 2 with this act shall elect 1 county supervior to the county board of 3 su Kt-visors, „ - 1 Sec. 10. The term of each sup-rvisor shall be for 1 years 2 beginning on January 1 after their election, except that the term 3 for supervisor elected in 19t3fi shall be for 2 years beginning on 4 January 1, 1967. 1 Sec. 11. Candidates for the office of supervisor shall be resi- 2 dents and registered voters of the district which they seek. to 3 represent and shall remain so to hold their office, if elected. 4 Nominations and elections for supervisors shall be by partisan 5 elections. To obtain the printin g of the name of any person as a fi candidate for nomination for the office of supervisf,r upon the fficial primary ballot there shall be filed with the county clerk 8 of each county nomination petiti,-ms si ;Tned by a number of quali- 9 fied and ri:.stred eltors rtii(ling, within the (,iitricr, equal to 10 not lezt,-..3 than lq nor InJ:Ire. than 1% of the number of votes cast 11 by such party for the office of secretary of state at the last gen- 12 eral election in which a sceretary of state was ,lecte,I. The dead- 13 line for filing nomination petitions or filing fees shall be the same 14 as candidates for state representative, Sec. 12. 'When a varani'y occurs in the office of supervisor 2 either by death, sination iv removal from the district or removal 3 from office, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment, within 30 4 days by the county board of supervisors of a resident and registered 5 voter of that district who shall serve until the vacancy is filled by 6 election at the next general or special election for the unexpired 7. term of office and until his successor shall have been elected and 8 qualified. 1 See. 13. Section 27 of Act No. 279 of the Public Acts of 1909, 2 as amended, being ,i0etiori 117.27 of the Compiled Laws of 1948, is 3 repealed. 1 See. 14. This Act shall become effective on April 15, 1966. " -Ttii-Siit*titutebill vrws refPrri4 ta 1ti(4r,nun—iiTee of the Whole owl placed on tlw general order Moved by Case supported by Rehard the resolution be adoptedL A sufficient majority having voted therefor, the resolution was adopted.