SECURE JUVENILE DETENTION S.B. 683 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 683 (Substitute S-1 as reported) Sponsor: Senator George A. McManus, Jr. Committee: Judiciary
The bill would amend the juvenile code to remove a prohibition against detaining a child for a status offense (i.e., an act that would not be an offense except for the person’s status as a juvenile).
The code specifies that a child taken into custody for deserting his or her home without sufficient cause, repeatedly disobeying the reasonable and lawful commands of his or her parents, willfully and repeatedly absenting himself or herself from school, or running away from home may not be detained in any secure facility designed to restrict physically the movements and activities of alleged or adjudicated juvenile offenders, unless the juvenile court finds that the child willfully violated a court order and, after a hearing and on the record, finds that there is not a less restrictive alternative more appropriate to the needs of the child. The bill would delete this prohibition.
MCL 712A.15 & 712A.16 Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
Senate Bill 683 (S-1) would have an indeterminate fiscal impact. The bill would permit courts to place minors accused of certain status offenses in secure facilities. As secure facilities cost nearly
$200 per day (as opposed to nonsecure facilities, which cost roughly $50 per day), this change would result in increased cost to the State. Given that there are no data on the number of youths who would be covered by this provision or their length of stay, the net cost of this provision is indeterminate. Some have noted that the State could be in danger of losing up to $10 million in Federal funds as permitting runaways to be jailed would violate Federal funding rules.
The bill would have an indeterminate impact on the probate courts for the above reasons.
Date Completed: 12-1-95 Fiscal Analyst: S. Angelotti
M. Bain
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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.