(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/12/2023) Despite appearing on a committee agenda Tuesday morning, a package of bills establishing productivity time credits for the incarcerated was not taken up after it became clear the votes weren't there to move them.
When asked why the bills weren’t being taken up, Committee Chair Rep. Kara Hope (D-Lansing) said the legislation “still needs more work,” but did not specify what the final holdouts were looking at changing.
Bill sponsor Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit)'s press conference regarding the package was also postponed Tuesday morning.
“With that thin majority, we need to have every hand on deck if we're going to move stuff. We were a little short today,” Carter said. “With some amendments we can get there.”
Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns), the committee’s minority vice chair and vocal opponent to the bill package, suggested that Democrats could be divided on what crimes to exclude from the program.
HB 4450, HB 4451, HB 4452, and HB 4453 all establish a productivity credit system, taking time off a convict’s sentence in exchange for the completion of educational and vocational programs approved by the state Department of Corrections (MDOC).
Currently, the bill excludes those sentenced to life without parole, murder, human trafficking crimes and sexual offenders, but does not exclude other crimes like attempted murder, arson, domestic violence or strangulation.
Filler said he’s introduced amendments to ban all assaultive crimes from inclusion in the program.
He said caucus leadership could also have been influenced by yet another conflicting analysis shared with committee members Tuesday by Bruce Timmons, a retired legislative attorney and former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
The document, which is dated Sept. 11, conflicts with legal analysis by Warner Norcross+Judd for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, which concluded that HB 4452 amending the Corrections Code would not require a three-fourths majority to pass.
The argument is whether the legislation would conflict with the “good time” credits eliminated in the 1998 Truth In Sentencing Law, and therefore should require a three-fourths vote of both the Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate to overturn.
Timmons said he “fervently disagree(s) that there is any way HB 4452 can avoid a three-fourths vote,” citing legislative history which he said does not match up with bill sponsor Carter's idea that the credits are different from “good time.”
“No disrespect intended, but Rep. Carter's contention conflicts with history,” Timmons said.
He argued that the overarching purpose of the potentially amendable section of the Corrections Code of 1953 has been to allow or disallow reduction in the amount of time a prisoner serves on their court-imposed sentence, and “no matter how the bill is phrased, (it) directly involves the historical purpose of allowing or disallowing a reduction.”
Timmons said recent amendments to that section of the Corrections Code have “not been consistently noticed” but have also received overwhelming votes to pass.
“Those were not controversial," he wrote. "If HB 4452 has serious opposition, it would be advisable up front to acknowledge the constitutional hurdle of a three-fourths vote or risk a certain legal challenge and likely a successful challenge.”
Filler said though he is the most vocal opponent of the package on the Republican side, there are likely only a few members of his caucus that would consider voting yes.
Hope said she’s unsure at this point when, or if, the legislation will be ready.
When asked if it could come up during the next committee meeting, Hope said, “Your guess is as good as mine."
In other news . . .
Also taken up Tuesday by the joint committee was testimony on a portion of the 20-bill package implementing recommendations from the Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force.
The portion of the package taken up Tuesday included HB 4624, HB 4625, HB 4626, HB 4627, HB 4628 and HB 4629, along with SB 418, SB 419, SB 420, SB 421, SB 422 and SB 423.
The House bills, and their identical Senate counterparts, focus on increasing the Child Care Fund reimbursement rate and expanding pre-court diversion efforts, including through additional screening tools and risk or needs assessments.
Rep. Christine Morse (D-Kalamazoo) honed in on the Child Care Fund increase from 50% to 75%, which she said would help alleviate the burden on local governments to provide juvenile system services “without providing the necessary funding to carry out those responsibilities.
“Given the fact that our juvenile system is a huge responsibility for our counties, it really is critical that we provide the funding that's needed to help move the system forward in a positive way,” she said, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has put an additional burden on the system with lowered staffing levels.
Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) said in addition to providing additional screening requirements for juveniles eligible for diversion, the bills clarify which crimes can be diverted within the blanket of assaultive.
“Right now everything is one big package. Everything is defined as assaultive,” she said. “We’re narrowing that down to alleviate some of the crimes that would not be considered assault.”
None of the bills were taken up for a vote Tuesday
