Sec. 217.

(1) A court fee fund is created in the state treasury. The state treasurer shall deposit into the court fee fund all money received from the executive secretary pursuant to section 304(4). The state treasurer shall, if funds remain in the court fee fund after the transfer described in subsection (3), transmit a portion of the money in the court fee fund, not exceeding $2,200,000.00 in any fiscal year, to the court equity fund created by section 151b of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.151b. If the court fee fund exceeds $2,200,000.00 in any fiscal year and $2,200,000.00 is transmitted to the court equity fund, an amount may be appropriated from the court fee fund for operational expenses of trial courts. Operational expenses may include the payment of salaries of trial court judges other than judges of the district court. Any money remaining in the court fee fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the court fee fund and shall not revert to the general fund.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if the retirement board establishes an arrangement and fund described in section 6 of the public employee retirement benefit preservation act, the benefits that are required to be paid from that fund shall, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be paid from a portion of the money in the court fee fund and any earnings on those amounts or other eligible funds. The retirement board shall determine the amount of the employer contributions or other eligible funds that shall be allocated to that fund and deposit that amount in that fund.

(3) The state treasurer shall, if funds remain in the court fee fund after the transfer described in subsection (2), transmit a portion of the money in the court fee fund and any earnings on those amounts to the reserve for health benefits created by section 214 to pay expected health care costs for the subsequent fiscal year that are not covered as a result of employee contributions under sections 305(1) and 714(6), and to pay, in an amount not to exceed $100,000.00 in each fiscal year, any health care costs not paid from the reserve for health benefits since fiscal year 1996-1997.

(4) This section applies unless the department receives notification from the United States internal revenue service that this section will cause the retirement system to be disqualified for tax purposes under the internal revenue code.

History: 1992, Act 234, Eff. Mar. 31, 1993 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 525, Imd. Eff. Jan. 13, 1997 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 99, Imd. Eff. May 28, 1998 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 95, Imd. Eff. Mar. 27, 2002 Compiler's Notes: In subsection (2), the reference to the “public employee retirement benefit preservation act” evidently should be a reference to the “public employee retirement benefit protection act,” (MCL 38.1681 et seq.).