By Liz Guiney
Gongwer News Service
A measure to extend the Dec. 31, 2026, sunset date for allowing trial courts to impose court costs on criminal defendants passed the House on Wednesday.
HB 5452, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner, passed 84-14. The bill extends the sunset to Dec. 31, 2028 (editor’s note: this story has been corrected to refer to the amended version of the bill).
Currently, if a defendant enters a plea of guilty or no contest, or if the court determines after a hearing or trial that the defendant is guilty, the court is required to impose statutory fines but is also permitted to impose costs associated with expenses incurred, costs of providing legal assistance to the defendant and other costs related to the court’s operation.
For nearly a decade, the sunset which would have ended the allowance of additional fines has been regularly extended to continue supporting trial courts’ operational needs. In 2024, the Legislature passed PA 47 of 2024, which required the State Court Administrative Office to analyze certain trial court costs and revenue sources and develop legislative proposals to change trial court funding.
The need to reassess court funding arose in 2014, after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in People v. Cunningham that courts could not levy certain costs on defendants, which created a funding shortfall projected to reach as much as $100 million. Specifically, the decision said a court does not have independent authority to set court costs.
Judicial advocates hoped to see an alternate system of funding reached that does not put pressure on judges to generate revenue through fining defendants. The Michigan Judicial Council released a proposal last year that has not seen serious movement in the Legislature.
The House also passed HB 4940, which would allow electronic transmission infrastructure to use existing rights of way, and HB 5356, which would make several amendments to the Michigan Vehicle Code regarding insurance claims, title and registrations, salvage and scrapping of cars and other regulatory matters. Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland, who sponsored the bill, aimed it at clarifying and simplifying issues reported to him by auto dealers.
The chamber discharged Rep. Curt VanderWall’s HB 5770, which would prohibit healthcare providers from charging facility fees for telemedicine, care in non-hospital facilities and outpatient services performed in a hospital unless in an emergency room, from the House Health Policy Committee, but did not take action after advancing the bill to Third Reading.
Hospitals opposed the bill during a Wednesday morning committee meeting where it was discussed.
Gongwer News Service
A measure to extend the Dec. 31, 2026, sunset date for allowing trial courts to impose court costs on criminal defendants passed the House on Wednesday.
HB 5452, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner, passed 84-14. The bill extends the sunset to Dec. 31, 2028 (editor’s note: this story has been corrected to refer to the amended version of the bill).
Currently, if a defendant enters a plea of guilty or no contest, or if the court determines after a hearing or trial that the defendant is guilty, the court is required to impose statutory fines but is also permitted to impose costs associated with expenses incurred, costs of providing legal assistance to the defendant and other costs related to the court’s operation.
For nearly a decade, the sunset which would have ended the allowance of additional fines has been regularly extended to continue supporting trial courts’ operational needs. In 2024, the Legislature passed PA 47 of 2024, which required the State Court Administrative Office to analyze certain trial court costs and revenue sources and develop legislative proposals to change trial court funding.
The need to reassess court funding arose in 2014, after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in People v. Cunningham that courts could not levy certain costs on defendants, which created a funding shortfall projected to reach as much as $100 million. Specifically, the decision said a court does not have independent authority to set court costs.
Judicial advocates hoped to see an alternate system of funding reached that does not put pressure on judges to generate revenue through fining defendants. The Michigan Judicial Council released a proposal last year that has not seen serious movement in the Legislature.
The House also passed HB 4940, which would allow electronic transmission infrastructure to use existing rights of way, and HB 5356, which would make several amendments to the Michigan Vehicle Code regarding insurance claims, title and registrations, salvage and scrapping of cars and other regulatory matters. Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland, who sponsored the bill, aimed it at clarifying and simplifying issues reported to him by auto dealers.
The chamber discharged Rep. Curt VanderWall’s HB 5770, which would prohibit healthcare providers from charging facility fees for telemedicine, care in non-hospital facilities and outpatient services performed in a hospital unless in an emergency room, from the House Health Policy Committee, but did not take action after advancing the bill to Third Reading.
Hospitals opposed the bill during a Wednesday morning committee meeting where it was discussed.
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