2004-PA-0419

Act No. 419

Public Acts of 2004

Approved by the Governor

November 29, 2004

Filed with the Secretary of State

November 29, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 29, 2004

STATE OF MICHIGAN

92ND LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2004

Introduced by Reps. Ruth Johnson, Voorhees, Vander Veen and Rocca

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5921

AN ACT to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled "An act to provide a system of public instruction and elementary and secondary schools; to revise, consolidate, and clarify the laws relating to elementary and secondary education; to provide for the organization, regulation, and maintenance of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to prescribe rights, powers, duties, and privileges of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to provide for the regulation of school teachers and certain other school employees; to provide for school elections and to prescribe powers and duties with respect thereto; to provide for the levy and collection of taxes; to provide for the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds and other evidences of indebtedness; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; to provide for and prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to provide for licensure of boarding schools; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 611, 612, 613, 614, and 621a (MCL 380.611, 380.612, 380.613, 380.614, and 380.621a), section 611 as amended by 1981 PA 87, section 613 as amended and section 621a as added by 2004 PA 234, and section 614 as amended by 2004 PA 233, and by adding section 634.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 611. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an intermediate school district shall be under the supervision and control of an intermediate school board composed of 5 members elected under this part.

(2) In an intermediate school district that adopts sections 615 to 617 for popular election of its members, or in an intermediate school district reorganized under section 701, the number of intermediate school board members shall be 7.

(3) In an intermediate school district whose boundaries are enlarged by a dissolution under section 703, the number of intermediate school board members, at the option of the intermediate school board, may be 7.

(4) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection, an intermediate school board may by resolution change the number of intermediate school board members to 7. Before adopting the resolution to change the number of intermediate school board members to 7, an intermediate school board shall hold at least 2 public hearings on the resolution. If an intermediate school board determines that the terms of intermediate school board members should be staggered differently than provided under this act or any bylaws of the intermediate school board due to a change in the number of board members under this subsection, the intermediate school board may adopt bylaws or amend its bylaws to change the way that intermediate school board members' terms are staggered. The bylaws may alter the current terms of members serving at the time the bylaws are adopted to implement the change in the way that terms are staggered. If an intermediate school board adopts or amends bylaws under this subsection that alter a member's existing term, the member's term is subject to that action.

Sec. 612. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a school elector of a constituent district is eligible to election or appointment to membership on the intermediate school board.

(2) Until the 2005 intermediate school board election, a member of a board of a constituent district is eligible to election or appointment to membership on the intermediate school board. Beginning with the 2005 intermediate school board election, not more than 3 members of the intermediate school board may also be serving at the same time as a member of the board of a constituent district or board of directors of a public school academy. However, if an intermediate school board has more than 3 members serving as of September 1, 2004 who are also serving at the same time as members of the board of a constituent district, this limitation does not apply to that intermediate school board until the expiration of the current terms of those intermediate school board members.

(3) A member of an intermediate school board who is a member of a constituent district board shall not participate in proceedings conducted pursuant to part 11 to detach territory from or attach territory to the constituent district of which he or she is a board member.

Sec. 613. (1) The intermediate school board shall hold its organizational meeting annually on or before the fourth Monday of January or, if the intermediate school district's regular election is in June, on or before the fourth Monday of July.

(2) The intermediate school board shall organize by electing a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer. Until July 1, 2005, the president and vice-president shall be members of the intermediate school board, but the secretary and treasurer need not be. Beginning July 1, 2005, all officers shall be members of the intermediate school board.

(3) The officers shall perform duties provided by law and prescribed by the policies and regulations of the intermediate school board not inconsistent with this part or other laws of the state.

(4) The treasurer shall post with the secretary a bond in an amount approved by the intermediate school board, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the treasurer's duties.

Sec. 614. (1) Except as provided in section 615 and subject to section 642 of the Michigan election law, MCL 168.642, the members of the intermediate school board shall be elected biennially on the first Monday in June by an electoral body composed of 1 person designated by the board of each constituent school district.

(2) The board of a constituent district shall designate its representative to this electoral body by resolution adopted not earlier than 21 days before the date of this biennial election. The board shall consider the resolution at not less than 1 public meeting before adopting the resolution. The resolution shall be adopted by majority vote of the members serving on the board. In its resolution designating its representative, the board of a constituent district shall identify the candidate the board supports for each position to be filled on the intermediate school board and shall direct its representative to vote for that individual or individuals at least on the first ballot taken by the electoral body. The secretary of the intermediate school board shall send a notice by certified mail of the hour and place of the meeting of the electoral body described in subsection (1) to the secretary of the board of each constituent school district at least
10 days before the meeting. The president and secretary of the intermediate school board shall act as chairperson and secretary at the meeting. The meeting of the electoral body shall be an open meeting conducted in the manner prescribed under the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.

(3) Except as provided in section 703, the term of office of each member elected to the intermediate school board is 6 years and begins on July 1 following election. Not more than 2 members of the intermediate school board shall be from the same school district unless there are fewer districts than there are positions to be filled.

(4) A vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of the intermediate school board until the next biennial election at which time the vacancy shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. Notice of the vacancy shall be filed with the state board within 5 days after the vacancy occurs. If the vacancy is not filled within 30 days after it occurs, the vacancy shall be filled by the state board.

(5) Subject to subsection (7), a candidate for election to the intermediate school board shall be nominated by petitions that are signed by a number of school electors of the combined constituent school districts of the intermediate school district, as follows:

(a) If the population of the intermediate school district is less than 10,000 according to the most recent federal census, a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 20.

(b) If the population of the intermediate school district is 10,000 or more according to the most recent federal census, a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 100.

(6) A school elector may sign as many petitions as there are vacancies to fill. Nominating petitions and an affidavit as provided in section 558 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.558, shall be filed with the school district filing official not later than 30 days before the date of the biennial election under subsection (1). The school district filing official shall determine the sufficiency of the petitions and the eligibility of the candidates nominated. The school district filing official shall provide ballots for the biennial election, listing on the ballots the names of all candidates properly nominated. The chairperson of the biennial election meeting may accept nominations for a vacancy from the floor only if no nominating petitions have been filed for the vacancy.

(7) Instead of filing nominating petitions, a candidate for election to the intermediate school board may pay a nonrefundable filing fee of $100.00 to the school district filing official. If this fee is paid by the due date for nominating petitions, the payment has the same effect under this section as the filing of nominating petitions.

Sec. 621a. An intermediate school board shall establish a policy requiring approval by the intermediate school board or its designee of all travel by an intermediate school board member or an intermediate school district employee that includes at least 1 overnight stay and is paid for or reimbursed by the intermediate school district. The policy shall require a board member or employee to submit both a pretravel authorization form detailing estimated expenses and a posttravel form detailing and verifying actual expenses and shall require approval of both forms.

Sec. 634. (1) Not later than July 1, 2005, each intermediate school board shall adopt and implement a conflict of interest policy designed to avoid conflicts of interest by intermediate school district officials and employees.

(2) Not later than July 1, 2005, each intermediate school board shall adopt and implement a policy to prohibit use of intermediate school district funds or other public funds under the control of the intermediate school district for purchasing alcoholic beverages, jewelry, gifts, fees for golf, or any item the purchase or possession of which is illegal. Subject to subsection (8), the policy may allow the use of public funds for the purchase of a plaque, medal, trophy, or other award for the recognition of an employee, volunteer, or pupil if the purchase does not exceed $100.00 per recipient. As used in this subsection, "public funds" means funds generated from taxes levied under this act, state appropriations of state or federal funds, or payments made to the intermediate school district for services by a constituent district or any other person, but does not include voluntary contributions made for a specific purpose by an intermediate school board member, an intermediate school district employee, another individual, or a private entity.

(3) The department shall develop and distribute to intermediate school districts a model conflict of interest policy for the purposes of subsection (1) and a model policy meeting the requirements of subsection (2).

(4) Subject to subsection (8), in any 1-month period, an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator shall not accept from a person who does business or seeks to do business of any kind with the intermediate school district any money, goods, or services with a value in excess of $44.00 if the board member or administrator does not provide goods or services of equal value in exchange. This subsection does not apply to a gift or reward already prohibited under section 1805.

(5) If an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator has a substantial conflict of interest in a proposed contract, the intermediate school board shall not enter into that contract. As used in this subsection, "substantial conflict of interest" means a conflict of interest on the part of an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator in respect to a contract with the intermediate school district that is of such substance as to induce action on his or her part to promote the contract for his or her own personal benefit. In the following cases, there is no substantial conflict of interest:

(a) A contract between the intermediate school district and any of the following:

(i) A corporation in which an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator is a stockholder owning 1% or less of the total stock outstanding in any class if the stock is not listed on a stock exchange or owning stock that has a present market value of $25,000.00 or less if the stock is listed on a stock exchange.

(ii) A corporation in which a trust, if an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator is a beneficiary under the trust, owns 1% or less of the total stock outstanding in any class if the stock is not listed on a stock exchange or owns stock that has a present market value of $25,000.00 or less if the stock is listed on a stock exchange.

(iii) A professional limited liability company organized pursuant to the Michigan limited liability company act, 1993 PA 23, MCL 450.5101 to 450.6200, if an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator is an employee but not a member of the company.

(b) A contract between the intermediate school district and any of the following:

(i) A corporation in which an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator is not a director, officer, or employee.

(ii) A firm, partnership, or other unincorporated association, in which an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator is not a partner, member, or employee.

(iii) A corporation or firm that has an indebtedness owed to an intermediate school board member or intermediate school district administrator.

(d) A contract awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, upon receipt of sealed bids pursuant to a published notice for bids if the notice does not bar, except as authorized by law, any qualified person, firm, corporation, or trust from bidding. This subdivision does not apply to amendments or renegotiations of a contract or to additional payments under the contract that were not authorized by the contract at the time of award.

(6) If an intermediate school board member, intermediate school district administrator, or an employee of an intermediate school district who recommends, negotiates, or is authorized to sign a contract on behalf of the intermediate school district either is employed by or under contract with a business enterprise with which the intermediate school district is considering entering into a contract or knows that he or she has a family member who has an ownership interest in or is employed by a business enterprise with which the intermediate school district is considering entering into a contract, the board member, administrator, or employee shall disclose this fact to the intermediate school board at a public meeting of the intermediate school board before the intermediate school board enters into the contract. If the intermediate school board receives a disclosure described in this subsection, the intermediate school board shall vote at a public meeting of the intermediate school board on whether or not it considers the relationship described in the disclosure to be a conflict of interest, and shall not enter into the contract without first voting at a public meeting of the intermediate school board to enter into the contract. As used in this subsection, "family member" means a person's spouse or spouse's sibling or child; a person's sibling or sibling's spouse or child; a person's child or child's spouse; or a person's parent or parent's spouse, and includes these relationships as created by adoption or marriage.

(7) An intermediate school board shall ensure that each employment contract with a school administrator employed by the intermediate school district includes both a provision prohibiting the school administrator from engaging in conduct involving moral turpitude and a provision allowing the intermediate school board to void the contract if the school administrator violates the provision prohibiting conduct involving moral turpitude.

(8) Beginning January 1, 2005, the monetary amounts specified in subsections (2) and (4) shall be adjusted each January 1 by multiplying the amount for the immediately preceding year by the percentage by which the average consumer price index for all items for the 12 months ending August 31 of the year in which the adjustment is made differs from that index's average for the 12 months ending on August 31 of the immediately preceding year and adding that product to the maximum amount that applied in the immediately preceding year, rounding to the nearest whole dollar. The adjustment shall apply only to expenditures or violations occurring after the date of the adjusting of the amount. The adjusted amount shall be determined and announced by the department on or before December 15 of each year and shall be provided to all persons requesting the adjusted amount. If the index is unavailable, the department shall make a reasonable approximation.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor