Possible letter to AG's office... please advise

Possible angle for letter to AG's office concerning all the efforts being expended by citizens all over the State due to illegal ordinances... and the reluctance of some municipalities to change them.

I have a letter in the construction stages in my mind that is based on the concept of "undue burden". It seems to me that it is an "undue burden" upon the citizens of this State to need to contact municipalities with illegal ordinances... then need to convince said municipalities of their obligation to stay within the confines of MCL 123.1102 (otherwise known as the preemption law) which can take many months with many hours and much personal resources expended by the average citizen.

Would it not be the AG's office obligation to step in and relieve this "undue burden" upon the citizens by ... oh.. I don't exactly know... releasing a statement or contacting all municipalities to check their ordinances for compliance... or ??????

My questions ... up for peer review... is simple.

Does the AG's office have this responsibility? Could the AG's office legally do such a thing? And... then there is this... would the AG's office actually get involved because of the "undue burden" concept?

Or am I just complaining about going broke because of attending, and getting tired of sitting through, eye bleedingly boring council meetings all over my area of the State?

Perhaps this will help?


Powers/ duties of Attorney General:


14.28 Representation of state; designation of solicitor general.
Sec. 28.

The attorney general shall prosecute and defend all actions in the supreme court, in which the state shall be interested, or a party; he may, in his discretion, designate one of the assistant attorneys general to be known as the solicitor general, who, under his direction, shall have charge of such causes in the supreme court and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him; and the attorney general shall also, when requested by the governor, or either branch of the legislature, and may, when in his own judgment the interests of the state require it, intervene in and appear for the people of this state in any other court or tribunal, in any cause or matter, civil or criminal, in which the people of this state may be a party or interested.

14.29 Suits involving state departments.
Sec. 29.

It shall be the duty of the attorney general, at the request of the governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer or the auditor general, to prosecute and defend all suits relating to matters connected with their departments.

14.30 Supervision of prosecutors; report to legislature.
Sec. 30.

The attorney general shall supervise the work of, consult and advise the prosecuting attorneys, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their offices; and he shall make and submit to the legislature, at the commencement of its session, a report of all official business done by him during the 2 years preceding, specifying the suits to which he has attended, the number of persons prosecuted, the crimes for which, and the counties where such prosecutions were had, the results thereof, and the punishments awarded.

4.32 Opinions for state officials; failure of prosecutors to file annual reports.
Sec. 32.

It shall be the duty of the attorney general, when required, to give his opinion upon all questions of law submitted to him by the legislature, or by either branch thereof, or by the governor, auditor general, treasurer or any other state officer, and also to notify the county treasurer of the proper county, of the neglect or refusal of any prosecuting attorney to make the annual report to the attorney general required of him by law.

http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-R-S-1846-14-28-12-THE-ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

DrTodd said:

Perhaps this will help?


Powers/ duties of Attorney General:


14.28 Representation of state; designation of solicitor general.
Sec. 28.

The attorney general shall prosecute and defend all actions in the supreme court, in which the state shall be interested, or a party; he may, in his discretion, designate one of the assistant attorneys general to be known as the solicitor general, who, under his direction, shall have charge of such causes in the supreme court and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him; and the attorney general shall also, when requested by the governor, or either branch of the legislature, and may, when in his own judgment the interests of the state require it, intervene in and appear for the people of this state in any other court or tribunal, in any cause or matter, civil or criminal, in which the people of this state may be a party or interested.

14.29 Suits involving state departments.
Sec. 29.

It shall be the duty of the attorney general, at the request of the governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer or the auditor general, to prosecute and defend all suits relating to matters connected with their departments.

14.30 Supervision of prosecutors; report to legislature.
Sec. 30.

The attorney general shall supervise the work of, consult and advise the prosecuting attorneys, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their offices; and he shall make and submit to the legislature, at the commencement of its session, a report of all official business done by him during the 2 years preceding, specifying the suits to which he has attended, the number of persons prosecuted, the crimes for which, and the counties where such prosecutions were had, the results thereof, and the punishments awarded.

4.32 Opinions for state officials; failure of prosecutors to file annual reports.
Sec. 32.

It shall be the duty of the attorney general, when required, to give his opinion upon all questions of law submitted to him by the legislature, or by either branch thereof, or by the governor, auditor general, treasurer or any other state officer, and also to notify the county treasurer of the proper county, of the neglect or refusal of any prosecuting attorney to make the annual report to the attorney general required of him by law.

http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-R-S-1846-14-28-12-THE-ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

Click to expand...

Thank you DrTodd....


Now a question... please see the portion of your post I have changed to red for ease of notice only....

Would it take a court case against an individual to establish that the interests of the State require that all municipalities adhere to, and comply with, State laws? Seems to me the State would already have an over riding interest in requiring municipalities to comply with State law without the need for a court case.

Edited to add... it says "any cause or matter"..... so a court case wouldn't be necessary at all...???

Bikenut said:

Thank you DrTodd....


Now a question... please see the portion of your post I have changed to red for ease of notice only....

Would it take a court case against an individual to establish that the interests of the State require that all municipalities adhere to, and comply with, State laws? Seems to me the State would already have an over riding interest in requiring municipalities to comply with State law without the need for a court case.

Edited to add... it says "any cause or matter"..... so a court case wouldn't be necessary at all...???

Click to expand...

I don't think it would matter if Mr Cox PERSONALLY decided that it warranted his opinion... but then again, he may decide that it does need to be a court case. It looks like the choice is up to him (or either branch of the legislature, or the governor)

Letter to AG's office sent a few ago based upon the simple question of whether or not units of government are required to comply with State law just as individuals are.... along with a request for assistance in the matter.

Wasn't worded exactly like that but that is the jist of it. Now I await a reply.

Bikenut said:

Letter to AG's office sent a few ago based upon the simple question of whether or not units of government are required to comply with State law just as individuals are.... along with a request for assistance in the matter.

Wasn't worded exactly like that but that is the jist of it. Now I await a reply.

Click to expand...

Very Nice! Keep us updated!!

Yes indeed... updates as they develop will be posted. I just hope I don't get the dreaded............ "bug letter".

Old joke heard when a kid.....

A fellow took a ride on a train back when there were sleeper cars where folks slept in beds overnight. The poor fellow was over run by bed bugs and, upon arriving at his destination, he penned a letter to the President of the Rail Road complaining.

A few weeks later he receives a response from the Rail Road's President filled with apologies and promises to address the situation. Happy with the response the fellow went to throw the letter away and a note fell out of the envelope.

Hand written on that note was:

"Sally, send this arsehole the bug letter."

Bikenut said:

A fellow took a ride on a train back when there were sleeper cars where folks slept in beds overnight. ."

Click to expand...

When I lived in Germany, rail was the best way to travel... arrive at destination in a short amount of time, nice modern facilities, and well rested for whatever faced you the next day. Oh how I wish someone could figure out a way to make a go of it here in the US; where all that I mentioned was provided at reasonable cost!

Amen Dr Todd: I loved riding the train. Went from Friedburg Hess to Frankfurt in about 20 minutes on the express, or take my time....leisurely 45 minutes on standard schedule.
Loved the scenery!

DrTodd said:

When I lived in Germany, rail was the best way to travel... arrive at destination in a short amount of time, nice modern facilities, and well rested for whatever faced you the next day. Oh how I wish someone could figure out a way to make a go of it here in the US; where all that I mentioned was provided at reasonable cost!

Click to expand...

The bugs were provided free of charge?

On a serious note... times have changed and I think that today any mode of travel that started out as comfortable would rapidly degenerate into something resembling the subway system in New York as the lazy, the folks with an entitlement mentality, and the criminals discovered it.

Only the bugs would be happy.

OT... I don't expect a reply from the AG's office for at least a week.....

Excelent idea to save our time and tax money!Thank You!