Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

JUVENILE COURT FEES; DELETE                                         S.B. 428 (S-1)-431 (S-1):
                                                                           SUMMARY OF BILL
                                                                 REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 428 through 431 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Stephanie Chang (S.B. 428)
           Senator Jeff Irwin (S.B. 429)
           Senator Erika Geiss (S.B. 430)
           Senator Jeremy Moss (S.B. 431)
Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
CONTENT
Senate Bill 428 (S-1) would amend the juvenile Code to do the following:
-- Prohibit a court from ordering a juvenile or a juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian
   to pay specified fees or costs associated with the juvenile's court case, court proceedings,
   or post-disposition care.
-- Prohibit the court from collecting the balance of any court-ordered fines, fees, or costs
   previously assessed to a juvenile, beginning July 1, 2024.
-- Prohibit an individual from being placed outside of his or her home solely based on
   nonpayment of restitution or refusal to perform community service.
-- Require 100% of the money collected from a juvenile subject to crime victim payments to
   be applied to the payment of restitution to a victim's estate before the balance could be
   applied to assessments to the Crime Victim Rights Fund.
-- Repeal Section 18m of the Code, which establishes the minimum costs a juvenile must
   pay arising from a juvenile proceeding.
Senate Bill 429 (S-1) would amend the DNA Identification Profiling System Act to exempt a
juvenile within the jurisdiction of the court under the juvenile Code from the requirement to
pay a $60 assessment for the retention of the juvenile's DNA identification profile.
Senate Bill 430 (S-1) would amend the Revised Judicature Act to exempt a juvenile, or a
parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a juvenile within the jurisdiction of the court under the
juvenile Code, from a late penalty if the juvenile failed to pay a fee or cost associated with
court proceedings in 56 days.
Senate Bill 431 (S-1) would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to delete the following:
-- A requirement that the written order of commitment for a juvenile committed to a juvenile
   agency include a provision for the reimbursement to the court by the juvenile or the
   juvenile's guardians for the cost of care or service.
-- A provision allowing the court to enter an order to intercept the tax refunds of a juvenile
   or his or her parent, guardian, or custodian for recovery of costs of care or service on a
   delinquent account.
-- A provision allowing the court to order a juvenile or person responsible for the juvenile's
   support, or both, to reimburse the court for attorney fees if the court appoints an attorney
   to represent the juvenile.
The bills are tie-barred, and each bill would take effect July 1, 2024.
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MCL 712A.2f et al. (S.B. 428)
    28.176 (S.B. 429)
    600.4803 (S.B. 430)
    769.1 (S.B. 431)
BRIEF RATIONALE
The Task Force on Juvenile Justice, created by Governor Whitmer's Executive Order 2021-6,
was charged with analyzing Michigan's juvenile justice system and recommending changes to
State law, policy, and appropriations aimed to improve youth outcomes. The Task Force found
that inconsistent court fees and assessments across the State may disproportionately burden
the rehabilitation of some juveniles. Additionally, testimony indicates that non-restitution
fees, such as court costs and assessments, generally can make juvenile rehabilitation more
difficult. Accordingly, it has been suggested that all non-restitution fees be prohibited.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
(Please note: This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)
Senate Bills 428, 429, 430, and 431 are companion bills to House Bills 4634, 4635, 4636, and
4637 of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session, respectively. Senate Bills 429 and 430 are
reintroductions of House Bills 4989 and 4991 of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, whereas
Senate Bills 428 and 431 are similar to House Bill 4987 and 4990 of the same session.
                                                                             Legislative Analyst: Tyler P. VanHuyse
FISCAL IMPACT
Senate Bill 428 (S-1), in addition to Senate Bills 430 (S-1) and 431 (S-1), would eliminate
non-restitution fees and costs for juvenile adjudication. The cost to local courts and the State
are indeterminate; however, associated costs related to the current collection of such fees
and costs would also be reduced, again, to an indeterminate degree. According to the State
Court Administrative Office, the statewide costs for local courts to collect such fees are high
and may currently cost court systems more than the outstanding amounts owed on an annual
basis. This cannot be confirmed.
Some statewide data is available. According to the most recent Statewide Circuit Court
Summary, total dispositions in circuit court under the juvenile code amounted to 20,762 in
2021. Additionally, there were 2,181 consent calendar proceedings for juveniles that same
year.
Senate Bill 429 (S-1) would have a minimal negative fiscal impact on the Justice System
Fund, as it would end the requirement that a juvenile, convicted under the bill in which DNA
analysis costs were involved in the prosecution pay an assessment of $60, which would be
deposited into the Fund. The Fund was created by Public Act 97 of 2003 to simplify the
assessment, collection, and distribution of monetary obligations imposed in criminal cases.
Revenue deposited into the Fund comes from various assessments related to court penalties
and is distributed according to a percentage formula outlined in the Revised Judicature Act,
which supports justice-related activities across State government in the Departments of
Corrections, Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State Police, and Treasury.
The Fund also supports justice-related issues in the Legislative Retirement System and the
Judiciary. For FY 2021-22, these distributions totaled $33.1 million in restricted revenue.
Senate Bill 430 (S-1) could result in an indeterminate loss in revenue for local funding units.
Late fees would no longer be imposed on juveniles within the jurisdiction of the court.
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Currently, late fee revenue is transmitted by the clerk of the court to the treasurer or chief
financial officer of the funding unit of the court for deposit in the general fund of the funding
unit. The loss in revenue is indeterminate and dependent on the number of actual late fees
that would no longer be imposed.
Date Completed: 10-3-23                                                              Fiscal Analyst: Humphrey Akujobi
                                                                                                          Bruce Baker
                                                                                                      Joe Carrasco, Jr.
                                                                                                      Michael Siracuse
 SAS\Floors2324\sb428
 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.
Page 3 of 3                       Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa                                       sb428-431/2324
Statutes affected: 
Substitute (S-1): 600.4803
Senate Introduced Bill: 600.4803