Michigan Statutory Law Resources
Getting Started Finding and Citing Public Acts Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started
| Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA) | Print REF KFM 4230 1948 .A44 |
| Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan | Print REF KFM 4225 .A25 |
| West's Michigan Legislative Service | Print REF KFM 4230 1948 .A44 Suppl |
| Michigan Legislature Website | Website www.legislature.mi.gov |
Finding and Citing Public Acts
Michigan statutory law encompasses both public acts and compiled laws. Public Acts are the original versions of laws passed by the Michigan House and Senate and approved by the Governor. They are published in the Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan by the year of enactment, and arranged numerically by public act number. Public acts are also referred to as session laws. When a law is enacted, it is assigned a public act number and year and is usually cited as: 1966 PA 331
A public act may be amended several times, but it always maintains its original identity. In the following example, a section of public act 331 of 1966 was amended by public act 306 of 2003. The Act may be cited as: 1966 PA 331, as amended OR 1966 PA 331, as amended, MCL 389.1 et seq.
The amended version of the Act contains the language of the law that is currently in force, not the language that existed when the law was enacted. In the previous example, "et seq" is a Latin term for "and the following" and refers to the remaining sections of the Act as contained in the compiled laws. The term is used when citing to the compiled version of the statutes. Acts that are general and permanent are compiled into a subject arrangement and published in Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA).
The official version of Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) ceased publication in 1979. The statutes are now only accessible electronically through the Michigan Legislature website at www.legislature.mi.gov. Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA) is the unofficial version of the state code and is still being published and updated with pocket parts. The annotated version contains the same language of the law as the online version, but it also contains historical and statutory notes and other references that are useful for legal research.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a current law if I don't have a public act number or a MCL number?
The MCLA has a two-volume general index that contains references to current laws. The index is arranged topically along with the corresponding MCL number. There is also a popular name index located near the back of the general index that can be useful if you know the popular name of the law. Another way to access current laws is to visit the Michigan Legislature web site at www.legislature.mi.gov.
I've checked the MCLA, but I still don't see the amendments to my public act. I know the Act has been amended, so what am I doing wrong?
Remember that the MCLA is updated with pocket parts, and they are located inside the back cover of the volume. ALWAYS CHECK THE POCKET PART! Also, you may check the West's Michigan Legislative Service supplements.
How can I tell if a public act has been amended?
Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA) contains the current version of public acts along with references to prior laws and amendments. If an Act has been amended, this source will provide you with the appropriate references. In order to locate the MCL sections containing the amendments, however, you will first need to convert the public act into MCL section numbers. There are two ways to accomplish this:
- If your Act is subsequent to 1948, you can consult the Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan. This source publishes the corresponding MCL section numbers along with the original version of the Act.
- If your Act is prior to 1948, you will need to consult the appropriate MCLA conversion table located in a set of volumes called "Tables". The public acts within the tables are arranged chronologically by the Act year, and then in columns that contain the public act number, section numbers of the original Act, and the corresponding MCLA section numbers. The section numbers are important because it is the sections that are usually amended, not the entire Act.
I'm trying to locate the original version of an Act, but all I have is an MCL section number. How do I locate the public act with an MCL number?
To convert MCL section numbers into public acts numbers, you will need to consult the appropriate conversion table located in the back of the Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan. The tables consist of a cumulative range of public act years, and are arranged numerically by MCL number with the coinciding public act number in the adjacent column. For Acts prior to 1948, you will need to consult the MCLA conversion tables.
