REDISTRICTING; INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS S.B. 494 (S-4):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 494 (Substitute S-4 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Sylvia Santana
Committee: Elections and Ethics
CONTENT
The bill would enact a new law to do the following:
-- Require the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) to collect a newly incarcerated
individual's pre-incarceration address and demographic data, beginning six months after
the bill’s effective date.
-- Require the MDOC to provide to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission
(Commission) the pre-incarceration address and the geographic unit containing the
correctional facility in which an individual was located for each individual who was
incarcerated on the date of the taking of the census, by November 1 of each year
immediately following the U.S. Census.
-- Require the Department of State (MDOS) to request from the U.S. Department of Justice
a report containing certain information pertaining to individuals who were incarcerated in
a Federal incarceration facility or contractual Federal reentry center or who were under
the Department of Justice’s supervision on the date of a Federal census, by November 1
of each year immediately following a census.
-- Require the MDOS to transmit this report to the Commission.
-- Allow the Commission to take information contained in the report into consideration while
proposing a redistricting plan.
BRIEF RATIONALE
The MDOC operates 27 correctional facilities, which are generally rural white communities;
however, testimony before the Senate Committee on Elections and Ethics indicates that the
State’s prison population largely originates from urban, multicultural areas. The State’s prison
population (32,374 in 2022) is disproportionally nonwhite (18,055). While the MDOC’s six
Upper Peninsula correctional facilities only hold 0.19% of the State’s prisoners, they hold 21%
(3,865) of the State’s nonwhite prisoners, compared to 0.15% (2,159) of the State’s white
prisoners.1 Some believe this represents a trend called prison gerrymandering, wherein
incarcerated individuals from urban areas are relocated to rural areas, counted in that area’s
population, and used to bolster population numbers for greater political representation at cost
to urban communities. Accordingly, some have suggested that Michigan count prisoners in
the communities they resided in before incarceration.
Legislative Analyst: Abby Schneider
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill likely would have a negligible fiscal impact on the State and no fiscal impact for local
units of government. The MDOC has indicated that it already collects demographic data upon
intake to a Michigan correctional facility and currently has the data available for an estimated
1
MDOC, 2022 Statistical Report, p. C-72, May 31, 2023.
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80% of the current population. There could be some additional staff time needed to comply
with the bill’s requirements and, should the hiring of additional staff become necessary, the
average annual cost of a full-time State classified employee is an estimated $138,900 for
salary and benefits.
The MDOS likely could incur costs related to reprogramming software to be able to accept the
data submitted by the MDOC. The cost to the MDOS would likely be minimal and absorbable
within current annual appropriations.
Date Completed: 12-6-24 Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.
SAS\Floors2324\sb494
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 2 of 2 Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa sb494/2324