Law Library

This is an introduction to some aspects of researching Michigan statutes, which are the laws enacted by the Michigan Legislature.

A bill passed by the Michigan House and Senate and approved by the Governor becomes either a public act which has general applicability, or a local act (not discussed here) which affects a particular area of the state.

The public acts enacted during one year are numbered consecutively. For example, those enacted in 1994 are cited P.A. 1994, No. 1, No. 2 and so forth. Both the act number and the year are necessary to identify a public act because each year the act numbers begin with number one.

Session Laws

The public acts are published in numerical order, first unbound and later in permanent bound volumes. These volumes are called session laws because the laws of each legislative session are bound together.

Public acts are published in numerical order in the following ways:

1. as individual slip laws,
2. in the Michigan Legislative Service(West Group),
3. in the "Current Legislation" binder of the Michigan Statutes Annotated(see below under Compilations),
4. in annual volumes called the Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan(the session laws of Michigan), and
5. since 1996, on the Internet at http://www.michiganlegislature.org.

Compilations

Public acts of a general and permanent nature are compiled (i.e., codified) into a subject arrangement of statutory law. Each chapter covers one area of law, such as motor vehicles (chapter 257) or public health (chapter 333). Public acts dealing with appropriations are not compiled, and neither are local acts.

The following versions of the compiled laws are used to find Michigan statutes currently in force.

1. The Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL)of 1979

 

This was the last printed compiled version of the statutes published by the State of Michigan. The annual Public and Local Acts updates the MCL.

 

2. The Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA)

 

This is a commercially-published (by West Group) version of the MCLwith annotations (references to other sources of information and summaries of court decisions). Cumulative annual pocket part supplements update both the law and the annotations. The annotations are further updated several times a year by "Interim Annotation Service" pamphlets. The MCLAis complemented by the Michigan Legislative Service,which publishes new public acts in numerical order.

 

3. The Michigan Statutes Annotated (MSA)

 

This is another commercially-published (by Lexis Law Publishing) version of the Michigan statutes, containing the same statutory law organized by subject matter. Cumulative annual pocket part supplements update the law and the annotations. The annotations are further updated in a "Current Annotations" binder. New public acts are published in the "Current Legislation" binder. The MSAuses a numbering scheme different from that of the MCLA. Both publications have tables which convert section numbers from one to the other.

 

4. The Michigan Compiled Laws on the Internet at http://www.legislature.mi.gov

 

This database is searchable by key words, chapter numbers, section numbers, and public act number and year. It is updated throughout the year.

To Find a Current Michigan Statute

1. When you know the public act number (e.g., P.A. 1994, No. 1)

1. If the public act was enacted after 1948, find it in the Public and Local Acts and you will see the MCLAsection numbers.

2. Or, use the tables volumes of the MCLAor MSA. In the MCLAsee Tables 8 and 9. In MSAvolume 26, see the "Cross-Reference Table" covering 1837 to 1935; in MSAvolume 26B, see the "Statute Distribution Table" covering 1931 to date. Now look for your act under the appropriate year to see which compiled laws sections have incorporated it.

3. Finally, find those sections of law in the appropriate volume of the MSAor MCLA (The spine of each volume tells which sections are in it.). Don't forget to look in the pocket part. In both the MSAand MCLA,a section of law may be followed by annotations consisting of history notes, references to other sources of information about the law, and/or summaries of court decisions and Attorney General opinions which have interpreted the law.

2. When you want to find the law on a certain subject (e.g., worker's compensation)

   Consult the "General Index" to the MCLAor the MSA. The appropriate subject heading will refer you to one or more sections of law.

3. When you know the popular name of the statute (e.g., Michigan Education Trust Act)

   In the MCLAconsult the "Popular Name Table" at the end of the "General Index." In the MSA"General Index" look for the name of the act alphabetically as you would any other topic.

4. When looking for a statutory definition of a word or phrase

   Go to the "General Index" in either set of statutes and look under "Words and Phrases."

To Check for Amendments

1. Always be aware of the dates of coverage of the volume you are using. Look for coverage information on the title page, and find the copyright date on the back of the title page.

2. Next, look in the pocket part supplement in the back of the volume. Every year each bound volume gets a new cumulative pocket part which contains any changes in the law or annotations since the volume was printed. The front page of the pocket part gives the coverage date.

3. The annotations may be further updated. When using the MCLAlook for "Interim Annotation Service" pamphlets. In the MSAsee the "Current Annotations" binder.

4. Finally, there are tables showing which sections of law have been amended by public acts during the current year.

1. In the MSAsee the "Table of MSA Sections Affected " in the "Current Legislation" binder.

2. For the MCLAcheck Table 1 in the latest issue of the Michigan Legislative Service.

3. A "Michigan Compiled Laws Table" appears in the Legislative Service Bureau's Michigan Legislative Statusfor the current term. The same table is on the Internet at http://legislature.mi.gov.

5. Once you have identified a recent amendment by its public act number, find the full text in the Michigan Legislative Service, in the MSA's"Current Legislation" binder or on the Internet.