Governor signs legislation increasing compensation for jurors

Those who serve jury duty will receive increased compensation and reimbursement for expenses incurred under legislation signed last Thursday by Gov. Rick Snyder.

“Michiganders who serve as jurors play an important role in ensuring fairness in our state’s judicial system, and these bills help make sure they are reasonably compensated for their service,” Snyder said.

House Bill 4209 and 4210, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Lucido, requires that after April 1, 2018, the current reimbursement rate for jury duty increases to $15.00 for half a day and $30.00 for a full day. Second and subsequent days will increase to a minimum of $22.50 and $45.00, respectively. HB 4210 authorizes the State Court
Administrator to allocate money from the Juror Compensation Reimbursement Fund for jury management software designed to ease the process and time commitment of jury service. The measures are now Public Acts 51-52 of 2017.

Snyder also signed six additional bills:

• House Bill 4211, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Lucido, amends the Michigan Penal Code to allow expert testimony as to the behavioral patterns of human trafficking victims to be admissible in court in a prosecution. It is now Public Act 53 of 2017.

• HB 4532, sponsored by state Rep. Mary Whiteford, eliminates the requirement of listing a male grantor’s marital status to instruments recorded before April 6, 2017, when the common law right of dower in Michigan was abolished, removing the male grantor’s marital status requirement. It is now Public Act 54 of 2017.

• Senate Bill 43, sponsored by state Sen. Geoff Hansen, amends the Public Employees Health Benefit Act to allow a lower minimum cash reserve requirement for certain public employer pooled plans. The lower reserve requirement could no longer be met with a letter of credit. It is now Public Act 55 of 2017.

• SB 126, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Kowall, amends the Occupational Code to give the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs the authority to determine the number of hours of eligible continuing education courses a real estate licensee must successfully complete in a license cycle. It is now Public Act 56 of 2017.

• SB 158, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones, removes duplicative record-keeping requirements for certain business entities who accept scrap tires and are already subject to record-keeping requirements under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The bill also removes certain record-keeping requirements for retailers who accept tires in conjunction with the purchase of replacement tires. It is now Public Act 57 of 2017.

• SB 168, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones, amends language in the Insurance Code to use “written” car years rather than “earned” car years in the formula for calculating the assessment a commercial vehicle insurer must pay to the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority. It is now Public Act 58 of 2017.

For additional information on this and other legislation, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.

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