Michigan House passes bill to change who oversees county prosecutors | Politics
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office would have less oversight of elected county prosecutors in a bill that passed the State House on Tuesday.
LANSING, Mich. (WJRT) – The Michigan Attorney General’s Office would have less control over the state’s 83 elected county prosecutors under a bill that passed the State House on Tuesday.
Lawmakers voted 60-45 to approved House Bill 5719, which was introduced by Republican State Rep. Mike Mueller of Linden.
The bill would would move the state’s Office of Prosecuting Attorneys Coordination and the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Both agencies currently are part of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. Mueller said all 83 county prosecutors in Michigan are elected by the people they represent and should be subject oversight from the state’s top prosecutor.
“It’s not the job of the attorney general to supervise independently elected county prosecutors,” Mueller said. “This bill ends that practice and gives a bigger voice to prosecutors in smaller counties, who face unique challenges.”
The bill would require the Office of Prosecuting Attorneys Coordination to operate independently, but Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs would provide support and coordinated services as requested.
It also removes the attorney general or their designated representative from the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council. In their place, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan would vote to appoint a prosecutor from a county with a population of less than 50,000 residents every year.
The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration. If approved there, it would move to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature or veto.
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