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SB 243

Elections: local; term of office for elected officials; modify. Amends 1909 PA 279 (MCL 117.1 - 117.38) by adding sec. 3c.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Standardizes start of terms for home-rule city officers to noon on the first day of the month after election, and requires oath after election results are certified.

referred to Committee on Election Integrity
#cities:homerule #elections:local
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Bill Summary · SB 243

SB 243 — Summary (Home Rule City Act: city officers’ term start dates)

Status: Introduced January 30, 2025. Referred to Committee on Election Integrity.
Legal reference: Amends 1909 PA 279 (MCL 117.1–117.38) by adding section 3c (proposed MCL 117.3c).

Main purpose

To standardize and delay the earliest possible start date for terms of elected city officers in home-rule cities so that newly elected officers do not assume duties before a fixed post‑election date, and to require that persons elected to fill vacancies may not be sworn in until election results are certified.

The change is intended to avoid situations where local officials take office before overseas and absent‑uniformed ballots are counted and election results are certified.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 3c to the Home Rule City Act.
  • Term start timing (subsection 1):
    • For city officers elected after December 31, 2024, terms must not commence earlier than 12:00 noon on the first day of the month following the officer’s election.
    • If a city charter currently allows terms to commence earlier (for example on a specific date before the first day of the next month), that charter provision is superseded — terms for elections after 12/31/2024 will instead begin at noon on the first day of the following month.
  • Vacancy oath rule (subsection 2):
    • An individual elected to fill a vacancy may not take the oath of office until the election results have been certified by the appropriate board of canvassers.

Who is affected

  • Elected city officers in Michigan home‑rule cities (those governed by 1909 PA 279).
  • Local city governments whose charters currently set an earlier term start date (their charter timing will be superseded for elections after 12/31/2024).
  • Candidates elected to fill vacancies (they must wait for certification before being sworn).

Timing / procedural aspects

  • Applies to officers elected after December 31, 2024 (i.e., it reaches back to affect elections held in 2025 and later).
  • The bill expressly overrides conflicting charter provisions.
  • Requires certification by the relevant board of canvassers before swearing in vacancy‑fillers.

Fiscal and contextual notes

  • Committee analyses indicated no fiscal impact on state or local government.
  • SB 243 is part of a package of bills (SB 240–243) that adjust start dates for local officers across different local government types (townships, villages, home‑rule cities) to address timing created by post‑election ballot receipt rules (e.g., absent‑uniformed and overseas ballots).

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact draft language for proposed MCL 117.3c; or
- Compare how this change would differ from current term‑start practices in a particular city charter.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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