PRE-COURT DIVERSION TIME PERIOD; LIMIT S.B. 420 (S-1):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 420 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Jeff Irwin
Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Juvenile Diversion Act to limit the time for a minor to complete the
terms of a diversion agreement to three months, unless a law enforcement official or court
intake worker determined a longer period was needed and filled out the necessary
documentation.
MCL 722.825 & 722.826
BRIEF RATIONALE
⁠Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2021-6 on June 9, 2021, which created the Task
Force on Juvenile Justice Reform (Task Force) within the Department of Health and Human
Services. The Task Force 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 the lack of State centralization has led to discrepancies
in the implementation of research-based, developmentally appropriate practices in juvenile
justice, which may lead to disparate outcomes for youth. Accordingly, the Task Force
recommended that pre-court diversion and consent calendar conditions be standardized and
aligned with those qualities.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
(Please note: This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)
The bill is a companion bill to House Bill 4626.
Legislative Analyst: Tyler P. VanHuyse
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would not affect judiciary or local courts, directly. Indirect costs to local courts would
be related to local court decision-making on diversion agreements, for which courts would
apply a risk screening tool and a mental health screening tool with guidelines developed by
the Supreme Court, as proposed in Senate Bill 419. (The FY 2023-24 omnibus budget
included $2.025 million for the creation of the Juvenile Justice Services Division within the
State Court Administrative Office.
Date Completed: 10-3-23 Fiscal Analyst: Humphrey Akujobi
Michael Siracuse
floor\sb420 Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa
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.


Statutes affected:
Substitute (S-1): 722.825, 722.826
Senate Introduced Bill: 722.825, 722.826