Michigan plan would centralize court revenues, shift collections to Treasury and rebalance state-local funding

Tom Boyd, state court administrator, and Michael Bosanek, Monroe County administrator, outlined a Judicial Council-backed implementation plan that would centralize court-generated revenue in a new state trial court fund and move receipts and collections to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

The plan, developed under Public Act 47 of 2024 and delivered to the legislature ahead of a Dec. 31, 2026 sunset, aims to reduce conflicts of interest created when local courts both assess and retain revenue. "We can end profit motivated policing and profit motivated courts by changing the way the money flows," Boyd said, framing the recommendations as a measure to protect impartial justice.

Why it matters: Presenters said Michigan trial courts cost about $1.22 billion annually and that the current model relies heavily on local funding (about $704 million, or roughly 58%) and court-generated revenue (about $242 million, or roughly 20%), creating incentives that can undermine equal access to justice. The proposed model would memorialize local contributions as a…