HB-4725, As Passed House, June 28, 2007

SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 4725

     A bill to amend 1982 PA 325, entitled

"An act to authorize county sheriffs to declare a county jail

overcrowding state of emergency; to prescribe the powers and duties

of certain judges, county sheriffs, and other county officials; and

to provide remedies for a county jail overcrowding state of

emergency,"

by amending sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10 (MCL 801.51,

801.52, 801.53, 801.54, 801.55, 801.58, 801.59, and 801.60),

sections 8 and 9 as amended by 1988 PA 399, and by adding section

1a.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 1. As used in this act:

     (a) "Chief circuit judge" means any either of the following:

     (i) The circuit judge in a judicial circuit having only 1

circuit judge.

     (ii) Except in the county of Wayne, the The chief judge of the

circuit court in a judicial circuit having 2 or more circuit

judges.

     (iii) In the county of Wayne, the executive chief judge of the

circuit court in the third judicial circuit and the recorder's

court of the city of Detroit.

     (b) "Chief district judge" means the chief district judge or

only district judge in a district court district.

     (c) "Commission of corrections" means the state commission of

corrections.

(c) (d) "County jail" means a facility operated by a county

for the physical detention and correction of persons charged with

or convicted of criminal offenses and ordinance violations, persons

found guilty of civil or criminal contempt, and juveniles detained

by court order. , or a facility which houses prisoners pursuant to

an agreement authorized under Act No. 164 of the Public Acts of

1861, as amended, being sections 802.1 to 802.21 of the Michigan

Compiled Laws.

(d) (e) "Department of corrections" means the state department

of corrections.

(e) (f) "Prisoner" means a person who is currently being

physically detained in a county jail.

(f) (g) "Rated design capacity" means the actual available bed

space of the general population of a county jail as determined by

the department of corrections. , subject to applicable rules

including variances to those rules granted by the commission of

corrections.

     Sec. 1a. (1) In a county other than a county for which a

county jail population management plan has been approved under

section 9a, the sheriff of that county shall take the following

actions on the fifth consecutive day on which the general

population of the county jail exceeds 95% of the jail's rated

design capacity:

     (a) The sheriff shall review the outstanding bonds for each

prisoner. If the total of a prisoner's outstanding bonds does not

exceed a maximum value determined as provided in subsection (2),

the sheriff, subject to the approval of the chief circuit judge in

that county, shall modify each outstanding bond for that prisoner

to a personal recognizance bond in that same amount, issue to the

prisoner a receipt similar to an interim bond receipt, and send a

copy of the receipt to the court that set the bond.

     (b) The following prisoners, except for any prisoner that the

chief circuit judge in that county believes would present a threat

to the public safety if released, shall be released immediately:

     (i) Any sentenced prisoner who has served 85% or more of his or

her sentence, unless he or she is serving a sentence for a violent

or assaultive offense, sex offense, prison or jail escape offense,

weapons offense, drunk driving offense, or a controlled substance

offense except possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled

substance.

     (ii) Any prisoner detained in the county jail for a civil

contempt adjudication for failure to pay child support who has no

other charges pending against him or her.

     (2) The maximum value of outstanding bonds, for purposes of

subsection (1)(a), shall be determined by a majority vote of the

following individuals, as applicable:

     (a) In a single-county or multicounty judicial district, the

chief circuit judge for the judicial circuit that includes that

county, the chief district judge for that district, and the sheriff

of the county.

     (b) In a county containing 2 or more judicial districts, the

chief circuit judge for the judicial circuit that includes that

county, the chief probate judge for that county, the sheriff of the

county, and 2 district judges chosen by the chief district judges

sitting in that county.

     Sec. 2. If the general prisoner population of a county jail

exceeds 100% of the rated design capacity of the county jail or a

percentage of rated design capacity less than 100% as set by a

court prior to the effective date of this act before February 8,

1983, for 7 consecutive days or for a lesser number of days as set

by a court prior to the effective date of this act before February

8, 1983, the sheriff for that county shall certify that fact in

writing, by first-class mail, or personal delivery, or electronic

communications, to the chief circuit judge, the chief district

judge, and each municipal court judge in the county in which the

county jail is located, the prosecuting attorney for the county,

the chairperson of the county board of commissioners, and the

county executive in a county in which a county executive is

elected.

     Sec. 3. If, upon receipt of a certification by the sheriff

under section 2, a majority of the judges and county officials

notified pursuant to section 2 do not find within 3 business days

after certification that the sheriff acted in error, the sheriff

shall declare a county jail overcrowding state of emergency.

     Sec. 4. Upon the declaration of a county jail overcrowding

state of emergency pursuant to section 3, the sheriff shall notify

all both of the following persons in writing, by first-class mail,

or personal delivery, or electronic communications, that a county

jail overcrowding state of emergency has been declared:

     (a) The judges and county officials notified pursuant to

section 2.

     (b) The county prosecutor.

(b) (c) The chief law enforcement official of each state,

county, and municipal law enforcement agency located in the county.

     Sec. 5. The sheriff, the persons notified pursuant to section

4, and other circuit, district, and municipal , and recorder's

court judges may attempt to reduce the prisoner population of the

county jail through any available means which are already within

the scope of their individual and collective legal authority,

including, but not limited to, the following:

     (a) Accelerated review and rescheduling of court dates.

(b) (a) Judicial review of bail for possible bail reduction,

release on recognizance, or conditional release of prisoners in the

county jail.

(c) (b) Prosecutorial pre-trial diversion.

(d) (c) Judicial use of probation, fines, community service

orders, restitution, and delayed sentencing as alternatives to

commitment to jail.

(e) (d) Use of work-release, community programs, and other

alternative housing arrangements by the sheriff, if the programs

and alternative housing arrangements are authorized by law.

(f) (e) Review of agreements which allow other units of

government to house their prisoners in the overcrowded county jail

to determine whether the agreements may be terminated.

(g) (f) Entering into agreements which allow the sheriff for

the county in which the overcrowded county jail is located to house

prisoners in facilities operated by other units of government.

(h) (g) Refusal by the sheriff to house persons who are not

required by law to be housed in the county jail.

(i) (h) Acceleration of the transfer of prisoners sentenced to

the state prison system, and prisoners otherwise under the

jurisdiction of the department of corrections, to the department of

corrections.

(j) (i) Judicial acceleration of pending court proceedings for

prisoners under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections

who will be returned to the department of corrections regardless of

the outcome of the pending proceedings.

(k) (j) Reduction of waiting time for prisoners awaiting

examination by the center for forensic psychiatry.

(l) (k) Alternative booking, processing, and housing

arrangements, including the use of appearance tickets instead of

booking at the county jail and the use of weekend arraignment, for

categories of cases considered appropriate by the persons notified

pursuant to section 4.

(m) (l) Acceptance by the courts of credit cards for payments

of bonds, fines, and court costs.

(n) (m) Use of community mental health and private mental

health resources in the county as alternatives to housing prisoners

in the county jail for those prisoners who qualify for placement in

the programs and for whom placement in the programs is appropriate.

(o) (n) Use of community and private substance abuse programs

and other therapeutic programs as alternatives to housing prisoners

in the county jail for those prisoners who qualify for placement in

the programs and for whom placement in the programs is appropriate.

(p) (o) Preparation of a long-range plan for addressing the

county jail overcrowding problem, including recommendations to the

county board of commissioners on construction of new jail

facilities and funding for construction or other options designed

to alleviate the overcrowding problem.

(q) (p) Review of sentencing procedures, including the

elimination of delays in preparing presentence reports for

prisoners awaiting sentence, and staggering the dates on which

prisoners will start serving a jail sentence to minimize

fluctuating demands on jail capacity.

     Sec. 8. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection

and subsection (2), if the actions taken pursuant to sections 5, 6,

and 7 do not reduce the county jail's population to the level

prescribed in section 6(1) within 42 days of the declaration of the

county jail overcrowding state of emergency, the sheriff shall

defer acceptance for incarceration in the general population of the

county jail persons sentenced to or otherwise committed to the

county jail for incarceration until the county jail overcrowding

state of emergency is ended pursuant to section 9, except that the

sheriff shall not defer acceptance for incarceration all persons

under sentence for or charged with violent or assaultive crimes,

sex offenses, escape from prison or jail, drunk driving offenses,

controlled substance offenses except possession of less than 25

grams of a controlled substance, or weapons offenses.

     (2) The sheriff shall not defer acceptance of a prisoner for

incarceration into the general population of the county jail if

both of the following occur:

     (a) The sheriff or the sentencing judge presents to the chief

circuit judge for the county in which the county jail is located

information alleging that deferring acceptance of the prisoner for

incarceration would constitute a threat to public safety.

     (b) The chief circuit judge, based upon the presence of a

threat to public safety, approves of accepting the prisoner for

incarceration.

     Sec. 9. If either of the following occur, the sheriff shall

certify that fact in writing by first class mail or personal

delivery, to the judges and county officials notified pursuant to

section 2 and, unless a majority of the judges and county officials

so notified find within 3 business days after upon receipt of the

certification pursuant to this section that the sheriff has acted

in error, the sheriff shall end the county jail overcrowding state

of emergency:

     (a) At any time during the county jail overcrowding state of

emergency, the general prisoner population of the county jail is

reduced to the level prescribed in section 6(1).

     (b) The county jail's population is not reduced to the level

prescribed in section 6(1) within 70 days after the declaration of

the county jail overcrowding state of emergency.

     Sec. 10. For purposes of section sections 1a and 8, a listing

of violent or assaultive crimes, sex offenses, escape from prison

or jail offenses, drunk driving offenses, controlled substance

offenses except possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled

substance, and weapons offenses shall be developed by the office of

criminal justice in the department of management and budget

department of attorney general.

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

after the date it is enacted.