Ingham County Surprised, Troubled about Senate Action to Reassign Court of Claims Mason, Michigan – October 31, 2013 – Ingham County officials expressed surprise today at a fast-tracked Senate bill that would reassign Court of Claims responsibility from the 30th Judicial Circuit to a few select Court of Appeals judges. A Court of Claims is the court that hears certain types of lawsuits against the state or its political subdivisions. The 30th Judicial Circuit has handled Court of Claims duties since 1978. Deb Nolan, Chairperson of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, voiced concern over the sudden introduction and approval of the bill in the Senate without notice to Ingham County. “This bill will undoubtedly cause financial harm to Ingham County,” Nolan said. The County approved its 2014 budget barely a week ago, including expenditures of nearly $450,000 for Court of Claims activities. Reassigning the Court of Claims will impact both staffing and county facilities. Veteran’s Memorial Courthouse located near the State capitol building was constructed as a joint venture between the County and City of Lansing. The City and County still owe construction bond payments totaling $6.7 million on the building through 2019. “Of course we are concerned about the immediate negative impact on dedicated employees, but the County also made a substantial good faith investment in a new building to accommodate the Court of Claims caseload,” Nolan stated. “The Senate did not make contact with the County before passing their bill, but clearly the impact is significant.” In its present form, Senate Bill 652 would immediately transfer the entire Court of Claims caseload to the Court of Appeals, including cases already under trial. Ingham officials openly wondered if the Court of Appeals was prepared to handle the caseload on such short notice.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 21:00:49 +0000
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