Convents, etc., how constructed.

as set forth by ordinances, or if not so determined, as approved by the superintendent of buildings.

SEC. 10-a. All convents, asylums, hospitals and jails shall be constructed as near as may be practicable according to the provisions of this act, and according to the plans and specifications approved by the State Fire Marshal as to safety, fire protection and fire prevention, and according to the plans and specifications approved by the State Board of Health as to sanitation, light and ventilation.

Approved May 19, 1921.

Section amended.

County committee, selection of.

Of what to consist.

Chairman, etc.

[No. 402.]

AN ACT to amend section two of chapter twenty-three of act number two hundred three of the Public Acts of nineteen hundred seventeen, entitled "An act to provide for the holding of elections, to prescribe the manner of conducting and to regulate elections, to prevent fraud and deception in the conducting of elections and to guard against abuses of the elective franchise," approved May ten, nineteen hundred seventeen.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

SECTION 1. Section two of chapter twenty-three of act number two hundred three of the Public Acts of nineteen hundred seventeen, entitled "An act to provide for the holding of elections, to prescribe the manner of conducting and to regulate elections, to prevent fraud and deception in the conducting of elections and to guard against abuses of the elective franchise," approved May ten, nineteen hundred seventeen, is hereby amended to read as follows:

SEC. 2. In the year nineteen hundred twenty-two, and every second year thereafter, the candidates for county offices of each political party, in each county in this state shall meet within ten days following their nomination at a time and place to be fixed by the then chairman of the county committee and select a county committee, and its chairman and secretary, for such party, which committee, shall consist of not less than two members from each township and ward of each city in said county, having a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand, or two members from each election precinct in said county, as said candidates shall determine at such meeting. The candidates shall also select the chairman, secretary and treasurer of the county committee. The chairman shall have a right to vote on all questions arising in said committee. The committee shall have the right

to appoint such officers as in its judgment may be proper to carry out the purposes of the committee, and shall have power to fill any vacancy which may occur in the membership of said committee or in any of its offices. The term of Term. service of a county committee shall continue for a period of two years and until the selection of its successor: Provided, Proviso. That candidates for state senator and for representative in the state legislature nominated at such primary by each political party shall meet and act with their party candidates for county offices in the selection of county committees in the counties which are wholly or partially located in their respective senatorial or representative district. Approved May 19, 1921.

[No. 403.]

AN ACT to prescribe the manner of applying for pardons and paroles of prisoners; creating the office of Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles, prescribing his powers, duties and compensation, and repealing act number one hundred fifty of the Public Acts of eighteen hundred ninety-three.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

of pardons

SECTION 1. There is hereby created in the Executive De- Commissioner partment the office of Commissioner of Pardons and Pa- and paroles. roles, with such powers and duties as are hereinafter prescribed. Such commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor to hold office during his pleasure and until a successor is appointed and qualified; shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum; and shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office. Such commissioner, excepting as otherwise provided herein, shall be deemed to be the successor to, and shall perform the duties and exercise all of the powers required of and conferred by law upon the Advisory Board in the Matter of Pardons and of the secretary thereof, and whenever statutory reference is made to such Advisory Board or to such secretary, such reference shall hereafter be deemed to be to the commissioner created by this act. The office of such commissioner shall be located at the seat of government with such accommodations therefor as shall be provided by the Board of State Auditors at the request of the Governor. Such commissioner shall have such Assistants, assistants and clerical help as may be necessary in the performance of his duties, the number and compensation of which shall be determined by the Governor. The salaries

etc.

Files, etc., to have charge of.

Oath of office.

Applications, filing of.

What to state.

and expenses of such commissioner and of his assistants and clerks shall be paid out of the general fund of the state in the same manner as are the salaries and expenses of other state officers and employes. The Advisory Board in the Matter of Pardons, created by act number one hundred fifty of the Public Acts of eighteen hundred ninety-three, is hereby abolished.

Such commissioner, under the direction of the Governor shall have charge of all files, records and documents pertaining to the matter of pardons and paroles; and upon the passage of this act all records, files and documents of the Advisory Board, abolished by this act, shall be immediately turned over to such commissioner. All matters and things under consideration by such board, including pending applications for pardons or paroles, complaints against paroled prisoners, and unexecuted or partially executed orders and determinations made by such Advisory Board shall be transferred to, and shall be acted upon by, such commissioner to the extent of the powers conferred upon him by this act or by other statutes relating by reference to such commissioner. Such commissioner, when appointed, shall take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office; and shall have authority to swear witnesses and administer oaths in any matter pending before him.

SEC. 3. Hereafter, all applications for executive clemency, in the nature of pardon, reprieve, or parole, in behalf of persons convicted of crimes and misdemeanors and undergoing sentences of imprisonment therefor, shall be filed with the Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles. Such application shall state the name, age, prison number, and prison where incarcerated, of the prisoner; the court where tried and sentenced; the nature of the offense for which convicted; the date of arrest and trial; date of commitment; term of imprisonment imposed; name of the prosecuting attorney and of his counsel; names of witnesses in the trial for the people and those for the defense as near as may be; the prisoner's statement as to his guilt or innocence and other facts or allegations in the nature of defense, extenuation or excuse for the crime or offense; life history of the applicant including parentage, early education and bringing up, character of associations, occupations and places of residence; prior criminal record, if any; prison record and conduct from applicant's standpoint, efforts at self-improvement and training while in prison; existing family connections; the attitude of applicant towards his family and to society; and such other statements as the Governor may require. Each applicant shall affirmatively promise in such application to obey any conditions imposed upon him by the Governor, to obey the laws and to behave himself as becomes a law-abiding person wherever he may be; and to assert truthfully that

he has obeyed or tried to obey the rules and regulations of the prison while imprisoned therein.

Such application shall be signed by the prisoner in person How signed. or at his direction, and acknowledged before the warden or superintendent of the prison, or deputies thereof, and shall be accompanied by recommendations of the warden and such other prison officials as the Governor may prescribe. Supporting affidavits, recommendations, and statements may be filed with the commissioner as the rules and regulations pertaining to such applications may require. The Governor may make such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the statutes, as in his judgment are necessary to carry out the provisions of any law, relating to pardons and paroles, and all such rules and regulations when made and published shall have the force and effect of law.

applicants.

It shall be the duty of the prison officials to render such Assistance to assistance to applicants for pardons or paroles as will facilitate the forwarding of such applications in proper cases or as may be prescribed by the Governor, and any officer of a prison deliberately and intentionally hindering, delaying or misdirecting any application, in any proper case, shall be deemed guilty of malfeasance in office and be subject to summary removal therefrom by the Governor.

and report.

SEC. 4. Upon receipt of any application for pardon or Investigation parole, the commissioner shall notify the Governor thereof, and shall make or cause to be made such investigation and report respecting the same as the Governor may require. The commissioner, under the direction of the Governor, may visit and shall have entry to any of the state prisons and houses of corrections, and shall have free access to any prisoner therein, in the performance of his official duties. The Governor and the commissioner shall have authority to call upon any state or county officer, judicial or otherwise, or any police officer, for information respecting any such prisoner applying for pardon or parole, or touching any pardon or parole already in effect, and it shall be the duty of every such official to furnish the information required, if in his power or possession. Hereafter, all paroles under the in- Indeterminate determinate sentence law, so-called, shall be made and ter- paroles under. minated by order of the Governor only, but this provision shall not be construed as affecting or changing the status of any existing parole, nor as abrogating or lessening the power of the warden of any of the prisons to cause the arrest and return to prison of any prisoner paroled by virtue of the provisions of the indeterminate sentence law for violation of his parole as provided in act number one hundred eighty-four, Public Acts of nineteen hundred five, as amended: Provided, Proviso. That each parole order, hereafter issued by the Governor, shall distinctly state whether or not the prisoner so paroled shall be subject to be arrested and returned to the prison upon the warrant of the warden, for violation of the condi

sentences,

Duty of commissioner

on receiving application.

tions of his parole, without the approval of the Governor as to the issuance of such warrant.

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the commissioner, upon receipt of an application for pardon or commutation of a sentence, if so directed by the Governor, to immediately notify the judge of the court by whom such convict was sentenced, and the prosecuting attorney or person who was the prose cuting attorney who conducted the case against such convict, of such application, stating briefly the grounds upon which such application is based; and it shall be the duty of such judge or prosecuting attorney or other person, within ten days after receiving such notice to reply to the same giving their opinions as to the advisability of granting the application, together with such facts and circumstances, suggestions or proofs as may be of material benefit to the Governor in aiding him to arrive at a just and fair decision in Duty of clerk. the matter. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the court in which any person is sentenced to any of the prisons of this state for any offense for which an indeterminate sentence is not authorized, to prepare, under the direction and supervision of the judge who presided at the trial, a statement in writing similar in character and context to that required in section four of act number one hundred eighty-four, Public Acts of nineteen hundred five; and to forward such statement to the Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles within ninety days after the date of the sentence, or sooner if required by the Governor. The clerk making such report shall be entitled to the same compensation therefor, and to be paid in the same manner, as is prescribed in such section four of act number one hundred eighty-four, Public Acts of nineteen hundred five.

Executive orders, how signed, etc.

Act supplemental.

SEC. 6. All executive orders pertaining exclusively to pardons, commutations of sentences and reprieves, shall be signed by the Governor in person and authenticated by the Secretary of State; but paroles under the indeterminate sentence law, where the prisoner is licensed to be conditionally at large but remains under the custody of the warden or superintendent of the prison or house of correction during such parole, may be signed at the direction of the Governor by the Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles, and need not be authenticated by the Secretary of State. All such executive orders, whether pertaining to pardons, commutations, reprieves or paroles, shall be obeyed by each officer to whom directed; and return of execution thereof shall be promptly made to the Governor, and filed with the Commissioner.

SEC. 7. This act shall be construed as supplemental to act number one hundred eighty-four of the Public Acts of nineteen hundred five and amendments thereto, in so far as the provisions hereof pertain to paroles authorized and issued under said act; and is deemed immediately necessary to the public peace, health and safety.