Summary — HB 4138 (2025): Civil procedure — service of process and court fees (cleanup after repeal of ERPO)
Status & sponsor
- Bill: HB 4138 (House Bill)
- Primary sponsor: Rep. Patrick Windhorst (with multiple cosponsors listed in the bill text)
- Introduced: February–March 2025 (filed/read first time and referred to committee; see timeline below)
- Subject: Civil procedure — service of process and court filing fees
- Related/companion: SB 2832
Note on source material
- The materials provided also include an unrelated Illinois statute amendment (725 ILCS 5/108‑10). This summary focuses on the Michigan bill amending the Revised Judicature Act (1961 PA 236; MCL 600.1908, 600.2529, and 600.2559) to reflect repeal of the "extreme risk protection order" (ERPO) act.
Purpose and intent
- HB 4138 is a statutory housekeeping bill that removes or modifies references to the (now‑repealed) extreme risk protection order (ERPO) act from the Revised Judicature Act. The stated intent is to update provisions governing service of process and court filing/processing fees so they no longer cross‑reference an act that has been repealed.
Key provisions and changes
- Amends MCL 600.1908 (service of process):
- Eliminates the clause excluding service under the ERPO act from the general service‑of‑process rules. (Currently §1908(3) states the section does not apply to ERPO service; the bill deletes that exception.)
- Amends MCL 600.2529 (circuit court filing and other court fees):
- Removes ERPO‑related exemptions and cross‑references in the list of fee exceptions (for example, where filing fees or certain fee waivers explicitly excluded ERPO actions).
- Other fee schedules and transmission instructions in §2529 remain, but ERPO references are deleted to reflect repeal.
- Amends MCL 600.2559 (fees for service of process):
- Removes any provisions or cross‑references that explicitly treated service in ERPO proceedings differently (full text in provided materials is truncated; the amendment’s purpose is consistent with the other sections).
Who or what is affected
- Primary effect: statutory cleanup — removing obsolete cross‑references to a repealed law.
- Parties affected in practice:
- Court clerks and administrators: codes that refer to ERPO will be clearer; no substantive change in fee or service practice because ERPO no longer exists.
- Litigants, process servers, and courts: no operational change expected unless ERPO‑type proceedings are re‑created by separate law.
- Fiscal impact: likely minimal or none. The bill removes references and exceptions tied to a repealed statute; it does not (by itself) create new fees or change existing fee amounts or processes.
Procedural/timeline notes
- The bill amends the Revised Judicature Act (1961 PA 236) — specifically MCL 600.1908, 600.2529, and 600.2559 (as amended by 2023 PA 35).
- Legislative actions in the record include filing, first reading(s), and referrals to committees (Judiciary and other committee entries appear in the timeline). Companion Senate bill SB 2832 exists.
- Because the changes are technical and limited to statutory language cleanup, enactment would take effect according to the bill’s effective‑date clause if passed (none shown in provided text — standard effective date rules would apply unless the bill specifies otherwise).
Bottom line
- HB 4138 is a corrective/technical amendment package that removes obsolete references to the repealed extreme risk protection order act from Michigan civil‑procedure provisions dealing with service of process and court fees. The bill’s primary effect is to tidy statutory language; it does not create new procedures or fees.
