ADRIAN GIRLS' TRAINING SCHOOL H.B. 5215:
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 5215 (as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Bronna Kahle
CONTENT
The bill would repeal Section 185 of the Michigan Penal Code, which prohibits certain conduct with respect to an inmate at the former Adrian Girls' Training School.
Specifically, Section 185 prohibits a person who is not an inmate at the Girls' Training School in Adrian from doing any of the following concerning a girl who is an inmate at the school:
-- Knowingly aiding or assisting an inmate's escape.
-- Knowingly aiding, enticing, or assisting an inmate's escape from another home or other place where she has been placed by the school's officers.
-- Knowingly aiding or assisting an inmate to leave the State.
-- Marrying an inmate, knowing that she is an inmate or subject of the school, without the consent of the school superintendent.
A person who violates Section 185 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
The bill would repeal Section 185, effective 90 days after its enactment.
BACKGROUND
The Girls' Training School in Adrian, subsequently renamed the Adrian Training School (ATS), was a secure juvenile justice facility established by legislation enacted in the early 1880s. The ATS was a medium-security residential treatment facility for adjudicated youths between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. Initially, the facility served as a reform school for girls referred there for criminal behavior or homelessness, among other reasons. In 1973, the ATS became coeducational. The facility was closed in January 2009, and Public Act 373 of 2010 authorized the conveyance of the school buildings and surrounding property to the City of Adrian. According to the Adrian Daily Telegram, the City of Adrian recently agreed to allow PlaneWave, a telescope manufacturing firm, to purchase the former school and another site in the area.
Legislative Analyst: Jeff Mann
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government. The Adrian Training School closed in 2009, so there has not been an opportunity to commit the specified offenses since that time.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.