STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6628

April 26, 1990

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:

Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 24 -- provision of special police services to townships by State Police and other local law enforcement agencies not within title of act

Those provisions of MCL 41.181; MSA 5.45(1), as amended by 1989 PA 78, which purport to authorize the provision of special police services to a township by the Department of State Police or by local law enforcement agencies other than the county sheriff or the township's own police force, have a separate object not expressed in the title of 1945 PA 246, as amended by 1989 PA 78, and, accordingly, are invalid, having been enacted in violation of Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 24.

Colonel Rich T. Davis

Director

Department of State Police

714 S. Harrison Road

East Lansing, MI 48823

You have requested my opinion on the question of whether 1945 PA 246, as amended by 1989 PA 78, insofar as it purports to authorize township boards to purchase special police protection from the Department of State Police, may violate the title-object clause of Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 24.

Prior to the enactment of 1989 PA 78, two separate Letter Opinions of the Attorney General had held that the Department of State Police lacked statutory authority to enter into agreements to provide police services to local units of government. Letter Opinion of the Attorney General (Representative Thomas H. Brown, October 30, 1979), and Letter Opinion of the Attorney General (Colonel Gerald L. Hough, September 30, 1981). 1989 PA 78 purports to grant such authority. It does so by amending 1945 PA 246, MCL 41.181 et seq; MSA 5.45(1) et seq, which is an act governing the general powers of Michigan townships.

Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 24, provides in pertinent part:

The purpose of this provision is to require that the title of a bill give notice to legislators and others affected of the object of the law, thereby assuring that only matters germane to the object as expressed in the title will be enacted into law. Continental Motors Corp v Twp of Muskegon, 376 Mich 170; 135 NW2d 908 (1965). See also, OAG, 1979-1980, No 5688, p 723 (April 21, 1980), and OAG, 1967-1968, No 4602, p 186 (February 20, 1968).

The title to amendatory 1989 PA 78 states in pertinent part that it is:

Section 1 of the Act amends the title of 1945 PA 246 so as to incorporate this language and also amends section 1 of 1945 PA 246, MCL 41.181; MSA 5.45(1), to read, in pertinent part that:

Thus, as amended by 1989 PA 78, the title of 1945 PA 246 now states that it provides for the establishment of a township police department and for policing of townships by the county sheriff. However, section 1 of that Act, MCL 41.181; MSA 5.45(1), not only provides for the establishment of a township police department and for special police services by the sheriff, but also provides for special police services by the Department of State Police or other local law enforcement agencies.

It is well settled that the title of an act need not serve as an index of all that the act contains. Midland Twp v Boundary Comm, 401 Mich 641; 259 NW2d 326 (1977). However, it is a common maxim of statutory construction that "expressio unius est exclusio alterius,"' express mention in a statute of one thing implies the exclusion of other similar things. Sebewaing Industries, Inc v Village of Sebewaing, 337 Mich 530; 60 NW2d 444 (1953). This maxim may be applied to the title of 1945 PA 246, as amended. Nothing in the title of 1945 PA 246, as amended, suggests that it contains provisions relating to policing of townships by the State Police or by local law enforcement agencies other than the sheriff of the county or the township's own police force. In fact, the specific mention in the title of policing of townships in only two ways--by establishing a township department and by the county sheriff--implies that the Act will not authorize police services by police agencies other than these.

In addition, section 1 of 1945 PA 246, as amended by 1989 PA 78, purports to confer authority on the Department of State Police, while the title refers only to powers and duties conferred upon township boards. Nothing in the title would indicate that the Act contains a provision prescribing duties for the Department of State Police.

It is my opinion, therefore, that those provisions of MCL 41.181; MSA 5.45(1), as amended by 1989 PA 78, which are underscored above, and which purport to authorize the provision of special police services to a township by the Department of State Police or by local law enforcement agencies other than the county sheriff or the township's own police force, have a separate object not expressed in the title of 1945 PA 246, as amended by 1989 PA 78, and accordingly, are invalid, having been enacted in violation of Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 24. See, e.g., OAG, 1979-1980, No 5688, p 723 (April 21, 1980); OAG, 1967-1968, No 4602, p 186 (February 20, 1968).

The Legislature has mandated in MCL 8.5; MSA 2.216, that any portion of a statute found to be unconstitutional is to be severed from the remainder of the statute and the remaining portions are to be given effect unless to do so would be inconsistent with the manifest intention of the Legislature. Highland Park v Fair Employment Practices Comm, 364 Mich 508; 111 NW2d 797 (1961), and American Youth Foundation v Benona Twp, 37 Mich App 722; 195 NW2d 304 (1972). The remaining provisions of MCL 41.181; MSA 5.45(1), as amended by 1989 PA 78, are independent and are capable of being carried out without reference to the invalid provisions which are underscored above. Thus, they remain valid. See, OAG, 1989-1990, No 6603, p ___ (October 9, 1989).

Frank J. Kelley

Attorney General