SUPPORT PAYER: TETHER                                                S.B. 588 (S-2): FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 588 (Substitute S-2 as reported by the Committee of the Whole) Sponsor: Senator Robert Geake

Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Support and Visitation Enforcement Act to provide that, if an employed support payer were in arrears and were found in contempt of court, the court could order the payer to submit to an electronic tether confining the payer to his or her home except during hours of employment, or could commit the payer to the county jail but allow him or her to go to and from his or her place of employment. The bill also specifies that if an individual who was required by the court to report his or her income to the court or to the office of the Friend of the Court, intentionally failed or refused to report or knowingly misrepresented the income, the court retroactively could correct the amount of the support. The bill would take effect on June 1, 1996.

MCL 552.633 et al.                                                                        Legislative Analyst: L. Burghardt

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on the court. The procedures outlined in the bill are currently executed.

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local jails and no impact on the Department of Corrections. The added provisions for allowing violators to be placed on electronic tether could result in increased local supervision, equipment, and monitoring costs depending on the number of offenders involved, and the type of tether system used (i.e., leased, owned and operated, contracted, etc.). These costs could be offset by participant fee collections, if imposed by the judge. For example, electronic tether participants (for the most part felons) supervised by the Department of Corrections are generally expected to pay $6.50 per day for tether participation.

Date Completed: 10-31-95                                                                          Fiscal Analyst: M. Bain

M. Hansen

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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.