Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.8379 — MI Code / Chapter 600 / Act Act-236-of-1961 / Section 600.8379
Fines and costs assessed in district court; payment; disposition; definitions.
Status: in_force

Sec. 8379.

(1) Fines and costs assessed in the district court must be paid to the clerk of the court who shall appropriate them as follows:

(a) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), a fine imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state and a civil fine ordered in a civil infraction action for violation of a law of this state must be paid to the county treasurer and applied for library purposes as provided by law.

(b) In districts of the first and second class, costs imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state must be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the action was commenced. In districts of the third class, costs imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state must be paid to the treasurer of the political subdivision where the guilty plea or civil infraction admission was entered or where the trial or civil infraction action hearing took place.

(c) Except as provided for fines and costs in subsection (2) and for fines under subsections (3) and (4), in districts of the first and second class, 1/3 of all fines and costs, other than those imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state, must be paid to the political subdivision whose law was violated and 2/3 must be paid to the county in which the political subdivision is located. Except as provided for fines under subsections (3) and (4), in districts of the third class, all fines and costs, other than those imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state, must be paid to the political subdivision whose law was violated, except that where fines and costs are assessed in a political subdivision other than the political subdivision whose law was violated, 2/3 must be paid to the political subdivision where the guilty plea or civil infraction admission was entered or where the trial or civil infraction action hearing took place and the balance must be paid to the political subdivision whose law was violated.

(d) In a district of the third class, if each political subdivision within the district, by resolution of its governing body, agrees to a distribution of fines and costs, other than fines imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state or for a violation as provided in subsection (3) or (4), differently than as provided by this section, the distribution of those fines and costs among the political subdivisions of that district must be as agreed to. An existing agreement applicable to the distribution of fines and costs must apply with the same effect to the distribution of civil fines and costs ordered in civil infraction actions.

(e) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), a civil fine imposed on a person for violation of a provision of a code or an ordinance of a political subdivision of this state regulating the operation of a commercial vehicle that substantially corresponds to a provision of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923, must be paid to the county treasurer and allocated as follows:

( i ) Seventy percent to the political subdivision in which the citation is issued.

( ii ) Thirty percent for library purposes as provided by law.

(f) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), a civil fine imposed on a person for violation of a provision of a code or an ordinance regulating the operation of a commercial vehicle adopted by a city, township, or village under section 1 of 1956 PA 62, MCL 257.951, must be paid to the county treasurer and allocated as follows:

( i ) Seventy percent to the political subdivision in which the citation is issued.

( ii ) Thirty percent for library purposes as provided by law.

(2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), in the fifty-second district, 30% of all fines and costs, other than those imposed for the violation of a penal law of this state or ordered in a civil infraction action for the violation of a law of this state, must be paid to the political subdivision whose law was violated and 70% must be paid to the county in which the political subdivision is located. This subsection applies only if the consolidation of the forty-fifth-b district with the fifty-second district, as provided in section 8123, takes place pursuant to section 8177.

(3) A civil fine ordered in a civil infraction action for a violation of section 682 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.682, or an ordinance of a political subdivision that substantially corresponds to section 682 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.682, that is a camera-based violation as defined in section 682 must be paid to the county treasurer or the county treasurer's designee and distributed as provided in section 909 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.909.

(4) A civil fine ordered in a civil infraction action for a violation of section 627c of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.627c, must be paid to the state transportation department and distributed as provided in section 909 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.909.

(5) As used in subsection (1)(e) and (f):

(a) "Commercial vehicle" includes a motor vehicle used for the transportation of passengers for hire or constructed or used for transportation of goods, wares, or merchandise and a motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry any load on the vehicle independently or any part of the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.

(b) "Operation" means being in actual physical control of a vehicle regardless of whether the person is licensed under the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923, as an operator or chauffeur.

(c) "Person" means every natural person, partnership, association, or corporation and their legal successors.

History: Add. 1968, Act 154, Imd. Eff. June 17, 1968; Am. 1969, Act 239, Eff. Sept. 1, 1969; Am. 1978, Act 511, Eff. Aug. 1, 1979; Am. 1979, Act 67, Eff. Aug. 1, 1979; Am. 1990, Act 54, Imd. Eff. Apr. 11, 1990; Am. 2000, Act 93, Imd. Eff. May 15, 2000; Am. 2024, Act 162, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025; Am. 2024, Act 165, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025