Task
Force Recommends Keeping State Bar Mandatory for Attorneys
A Supreme Court created task force issued a
report Tuesday stating that attorneys should in fact be required to join the
State Bar of Michigan. The task force was created in response to a State Bar
action last January that asked Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to make
mandatory the disclosure of donors to judicial campaigns. The task force looked
into the political involvement of the State Bar and recommended that the
Supreme Court prohibit involvement from the State Bar in a number of areas.
According to the task force, mandatory membership of the State Bar allows for public
services to be delivered; however, it also puts some restrictions on their
actions. The Supreme Court will be taking public comment on the issue through
August 4th.
Bills
Would Allow Electronic Absentee Ballots, Registration for Military
House
Bill 5633, which involves the creation of online voter registration through
the Department of State’s website, HB
5634 that allows for ballots postmarked before the polls close on election
day to be counted in the official results, and HB
5635, which would allow absentee ballots to be sent electronically and would
make Michigan the 23rd state to do so, were all referred to the
House Elections and Ethics Committee on Wednesday. The sponsors of the bills,
Representative David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) and Representative Sarah
Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores), explained the need for the bills to simplify the
voting process for our military members overseas.