We vacate the circuit court’s order and remand for continued proceedings. MCL 600.1513 is a general act that does not require a local vote to become effective. Establishing and maintaining a jail serves vital needs of the court, and thereby qualifies as integral to the performance of a state function. The various circuit courts of this state are not local courts, but rather pieces of a larger statewide court system. The circuit court agreed and summarily dismissed the case. The city promptly moved for summary disposition, contending that MCL 600.1513(4) is an unconstitutional “local or special act” that required the approval of the citizens of Battle Creek, and no such vote was ever held. In 2018, the city stopped paying the county for the cost of certain jail beds, and the county brought this suit. In 1961, the Legislature reenacted virtually the same statute as MCL 600.1513, which also requires that Battle Creek “furnish and provide, free of expense to Calhoun county,” both a “suitable place” for holding court within Battle Creek, and “a suitable and sufficient jail for the incarceration of prisoners during the sitting of the circuit court.” MCL 600.1513(4). The statute also obligated Battle Creek to furnish “a suitable and sufficient jail for the incarceration of prisoners” at the City’s expense. Over a century ago, the Michigan Legislature enacted a statute requiring that the circuit court in Calhoun County conduct two terms of court each year in the county seat (Marshall), and two in the city of Battle Creek. Before: STEPHENS, P.J., and BORRELLO and GLEICHER, JJ. 2019-003438-CZ CITY OF BATTLE CREEK, Defendant-Appellee. STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS CALHOUN COUNTY, FOR PUBLICATION Septem9:15 a.m. If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.
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