Act No. 544

Public Acts of 2008

Approved by the Governor

January 13, 2009

Filed with the Secretary of State

January 13, 2009

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 2009

STATE OF MICHIGAN

94TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2008

Introduced by Senators Kuipers, Richardville, Kahn, Barcia, Cherry, Hardiman, Jacobs and Whitmer

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 1617

AN ACT to create the children's advocacy center act; to create the children's advocacy center fund; to provide for distributions from the fund; to prescribe the powers and duties of the fund administrator; and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state officials.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "children's advocacy center act".

Sec. 2. As used in this act:

(a) "Board" means the domestic violence prevention and treatment board created in section 2 of 1978 PA 389, MCL400.1502.

(b) "Children's advocacy center" means an entity accredited as a child advocacy center by the national children's alliance or its successor agency.

(c) "Fund" means the children's advocacy center fund created in section 3.

Sec. 3. (1) The children's advocacy center fund is created within the state treasury.

(2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.

(3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.

(4) The department of human services shall be the administrator of the fund for auditing purposes.

Sec. 4. (1) Money shall not be expended from the fund for the first year after the effective date of this act. Beginning 2 years after the effective date of this act, the board may expend money from the fund as appropriated. Money in the fund shall be expended only as follows:

(a) To provide investigative, assessment, counseling, support, and educational services to victims of child sexual abuse and their families through children's advocacy centers.

(b) To pay the actual and reasonable operating costs of children's advocacy centers.

(c) To provide training related to child sexual abuse for personnel employed or otherwise retained by children's advocacy centers.

(d) To improve the detection, investigation, treatment, and prevention of child sexual abuse through the coordinated activities of children's advocacy centers, medical care providers, crime victim organizations, and local, state, and federal law enforcement officials.

(e) To improve public awareness of child sexual abuse through the use of children's advocacy centers.

(f) To pay the actual and reasonable costs of administering the fund. Not more than 10% of distributions made in any fiscal year shall be used to pay administrative costs under this subdivision.

(2) The board shall require an annual audit of income and expenditures under this section and shall provide an annual report of incomes and expenditures to the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives by February 1 of each year.

Enacting section 1. This act takes effect April 1, 2009.

Enacting section 2. This act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 94th Legislature are enacted into law:

(a) Senate Bill No. 1616.

(b) Senate Bill No. 1618.

(c) House Bill No. 5054.

(d) House Bill No. 5055.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor