HB 6444 Summary

• Changes filing language from "shall" to "must" throughout Section 163 of Michigan election law for consistency in statutory language.

• Makes the $100.00 filing fee for state senator and representative candidates nonrefundable, eliminating the previous system where fees were refunded to nominated candidates and those with the next highest vote totals.

• Requires filing fee deposits to be placed in the candidate's county of residence general fund and used only for purchase and maintenance of voting equipment.

• Maintains the existing option for candidates to file either nominating petitions or pay the $100.00 filing fee as alternative methods to get names on primary ballots.

• Changes the filing deadline from the twelfth Tuesday to the fifteenth Tuesday before the August primary, effective January 1, 2014.