Michigan requirements to file recall petitions would be vastly overhauled under a new bill proposed in the state Senate last week. Senate Bill 629 would not only restrict the allowed language for recall petitions but also restrict when in a politician's term a petition for recall can be filed.
Michigan's recall laws have been criticized for being too general, making it easy for a petition to be filed. The law has come under criticism in the last couple of years as the number of petitions has skyrocketed.
Here is some key information about the proposed overhaul of the recall process and current recall efforts in Michigan.
* Michigan is one of 19 states to allow the recall of state legislators, although 29 allow recalls at a local level.
* Michigan's recall law was created in 1954 and fine-tuned in 1963.
* 40 of Michigan's 148 state lawmakers face recall efforts this year. There are many more local recall petitions in circulation.
* 28 of the recall efforts aimed at state legislators are targeted toward Republicans.
* The last time a state lawmaker was successfully recalled was 1983.
* While there are many state lawmakers who have had recall petitions filed against them, only Rep. Paul Scott, R-Flushing, faces an immediate recall vote this week.
* The other recall petitions against state lawmakers are aimed at the February elections.
* Scott is the first state lawmaker to face a recall vote since 2008. He is the chairman of the House Education Committee and one of the largest proponents of many of the unpopular measures that sought to overhaul Michigan's educational system and the rights of teachers earlier this year.
* Senate Bill 629, sponsored by state Senator John Gleason, D-Flushing, would restrict the language of recall petitions, requiring all claims against the lawmaker in question and reasoning behind the recall petition be proven factually.
* It also would restrict the window in which a petition can be filed. Under Gleason's bill, petitions against a politician serving a two-year term could not be filed in the first or last six months of the term. Recall petitions against a politician serving more than two years two years could not be filed in the first or last year.
Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in politics and public issues.
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