Michigan § 600.151e - Juror compensation reimbursement fund; distribution; allocation of funds for contract with software vendor and position within state court administrator office that provides technical support; report; conditions for reimbursement; payments; definitions.

(1) The money in the juror compensation reimbursement fund must be distributed as provided in this section.

(2) The state court administrator is authorized to allocate funds from the juror compensation reimbursement fund to enter into a contract with a jury management software vendor to provide software and ongoing support and maintenance to all state trial courts.

(3) The state court administrator is authorized to provide funding from the juror compensation reimbursement fund for a position within the state court administrative office that provides technical assistance to all state trial courts on jury management in order to improve efficiency, reduce the number of citizens summoned unnecessarily for jury service, and reduce costs to state taxpayers for juror pay, mileage, and meals.

(4) The sum of money spent in subsections (2) and (3) must not diminish the amount reimbursed to court funding units as prescribed in subsection (7).

(5) Each court funding unit shall submit a report semiannually to the state court administrator for each court for which it is a funding unit providing the total amount of the expense incurred during the period for juror compensation.

(6) Each year, the state court administrator, at the direction of the supreme court and upon confirmation by the state treasurer of the total amount available in the fund, shall distribute from the fund the amount prescribed in subsection (7). However, reimbursements under this subsection are subject to both of the following:

(a) The state court administrator must be reimbursed semiannually from the fund for reasonable costs associated with the administration of this section, including expenditures under subsections (2), (3), and (4).

(b) If the amount available in the fund in any fiscal year is more than the amount needed to pay the entire reimbursement required under subsections (2), (3), and (7), the unencumbered balance must be carried forward to the next fiscal year and must not revert to the general fund.

(7) Each court funding unit is entitled to receive reimbursement from the fund for the juror compensation expense amount reported under subsection (5) for the preceding 6 months, excluding any juror compensation in excess of the statutory minimum under section 1344 and excluding the first $7.50 for half-day juror attendance rates, the first $15.00 for full-day juror attendance rates, and the first 10 cents per mile reimbursement.

(8) Payments from the fund must be made every 6 months. Reimbursement for each 6-month period must be made from the fund not later than 2 months after the end of the 6-month period.

(9) As used in this section:

(a) "Court funding unit" means 1 of the following, as applicable:

(i) For circuit or probate court, the county.

(ii) For district court, the district funding unit as that term is defined in section 8104.

(iii) For a municipal court, the city in which the municipal court is located.

(b) "Juror compensation" means mileage reimbursement and attendance rates paid to jurors.