in Re Advisory Opinion 2011 Pa 38 ( 2011 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
June 15, 2011 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
143157 Michael F. Cavanagh
Marilyn Kelly
Stephen J. Markman
Diane M. Hathaway
IN RE REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION Mary Beth Kelly
REGARDING CONSTITUTIONALITY OF Brian K. Zahra,
2011 PA 38 SC: 143157 Justices
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the request by the Governor for an advisory opinion on the
constitutionality of the reduction or elimination of tax exemption for pension incomes
contained in 2011 PA 38 is considered, and it is GRANTED. We direct that oral
argument on the following questions be heard on Wednesday, September 7, 2011, at 9:30
a.m. MCR 7.302(H)(1). The questions submitted are: (1) whether reducing or
eliminating the statutory exemption for public-pension incomes as described in MCL
206.30, as amended, impairs accrued financial benefits of a “pension plan [or] retirement
system of the state [or] its political subdivisions” under Const 1963, art 9, § 24;
(2) whether reducing or eliminating the statutory tax exemption for pension incomes, as
described in MCL 206.30, as amended, impairs a contract obligation in violation of Const
1963, art 1, § 10 or the US Const, art I, § 10(1); (3) whether determining eligibility for
income-tax exemptions on the basis of total household resources, or age and total
household resources, as described in MCL 206.30(7) and (9), as amended, creates a
graduated income tax in violation of Const 1963, art 9, § 7; and (4) whether determining
eligibility for income-tax exemptions on the basis of date of birth, as described in MCL
206.30(9), as amended, violates equal protection of the law under Const 1963, art 1, § 2
or the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The Attorney General is respectfully requested to submit within 56 days of the
date of this order separate briefs arguing that the reduction or elimination of tax
exemption for pension incomes contained in 2011 PA 38 and the determination of
eligibility of income tax exemptions for pensions on the basis of age are and are not
constitutional under the Michigan and United States Constitutions.
Persons or groups interested in the determination of the questions presented in this
matter may move the Court for permission to file briefs amicus curiae on either or both
sides of the submitted questions.
I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
June 15, 2011 _________________________________________
t0615 Clerk