Committee hears testimony on HB 4749 to create a stand‑alone judgeship in Antrim County; judge requests one‑year implementation window

House Bill 4749, introduced by Rep. Roth, would alter the district/probate court configuration in Antrim County to create a single local judgeship handling both district and probate business. Rep. Roth and Judge Stacy Truesdale described significant geographic and service‑access challenges under the current multi‑county arrangement (Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Antrim), and testified that Antrim residents experience lengthy travel times to the current hub in Traverse City.

Judge Truesdale said stakeholders — including county administrators, Grand Traverse County, and SCALE — have been consulted and that the change is intended to improve local access to courts, reduce travel burdens for parties (including those attending sobriety court and other services), and speed filings and communications by having local court staff. She told the committee the new configuration would not add an additional judgeship beyond preserving local service; county commissioners are prepared to assume some local costs and SCALE requested a one‑year delay from the date of signing to implement budget and administrative changes.

Committee members asked about fiscal impacts and term length for the judgeship. Judge Truesdale said there would be no additional state judge and that local counties would bear transition costs; she confirmed a one‑year implementation window requested by SCALE and indicated the judgeship term would conform to existing judicial term lengths.

Quotes
"This bill will allow Antrim County citizens to receive services within their county without the need to travel so far," Judge Stacy Truesdale said.

Details
- Geography and access: Witnesses cited drives of 45–65 minutes in good traffic from parts of Antrim County to Traverse City.
- Fiscal implications: County commissioners and Grand Traverse leaders discussed accepting additional local costs for improved service; the transcript recorded no state appropriation tied to the legislation in committee testimony.
- Implementation: SCALE asked that the law take effect one year after signing to allow budget and operational transition.