Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM FEES AND ASSESSMENTS
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 428 as enacted Analysis available at
Public Act 301 of 2023 http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Sponsor: Sen. Stephanie Chang
Senate Bill 429 as enacted
Public Act 302 of 2023
Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Irwin
House Bill 4636 as enacted House Bill 4637 as enacted
Public Act 292 of 2023 Public Act 293 of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Emily E. Dievendorf Sponsor: Rep. Carol Glanville
House Committee: Criminal Justice
Senate Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
Complete to 1-24-24
SUMMARY:
The bills amend different acts to eliminate certain fees and costs associated with involvement
in the juvenile justice system. As described in “Background,” below, the bills implement, at
least in part, recommendations of the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform. They
take effect October 1, 2024.
Senate Bill 428 amends Chapter XIIA of the Probate Code, commonly known as the juvenile
code, to prohibit a court from ordering a juvenile within its jurisdiction under the juvenile code
or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to reimburse it for any fine, fees, or costs
related to the juvenile’s court case. Beginning October 1, 2024, courts are prohibited from
collecting the balance of any court-ordered fines, fees, or costs previously assessed to a juvenile
under section 18m or 29 of the juvenile code, and the portion of the court order that imposed
those fines, fees, and costs is vacated and unenforceable.
The bill also adds specific provisions to prohibit a court from doing any of the following:
• Ordering, in a consent calendar case plan, a juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian,
or legal custodian to pay for fees or costs associated with consent calendar services.
• Ordering a juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to pay for fees
or costs associated with community service the juvenile is ordered to engage in.
• Ordering a juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to pay fines
associated with a violation of a municipal ordinance or a state or federal law if another
disposition under section 2f of the juvenile code has been ordered.
• Placing a juvenile outside of their home based solely on nonpayment of restitution or
inability to perform community service.
The bill eliminates provisions that now do the following:
• Require an order of disposition placing a juvenile in or committing a juvenile to care
outside the juvenile’s own home and under supervision of the state, a county juvenile
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 4
 agency, or the court to contain a provision for reimbursement by the juvenile or the
juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian for the cost of care or service.
• Allow a court to enter an order to intercept state or federal tax refunds of a juvenile or
the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to pay the costs of the above care or
service and require the court to send notice of the order to the Department of Treasury.
• Require an order of disposition placing a juvenile in the juvenile’s own home (on
probation or under supervision) to contain a provision for reimbursement by the
juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian for the cost of service.
• Require the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to create guidelines for
determining the ability of a juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal
custodian to pay for care and cost of services ordered under the above provisions.
• Allow a court to require a juvenile or the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian
to pay reimbursement of attorney fees for a court-appointed attorney.
• Allow the superintendent of the institution where a juvenile is committed to be named
as a special guardian to receive benefits due to the juvenile from the United States
government and to use those benefits to pay for portions of the cost of care in the
institution that the juvenile’s parents are found unable to pay.
• Require a court to order a juvenile to pay the applicable assessment under 1989 PA 196
upon conviction for an offense that is a misdemeanor, felony, or ordinance violation or
disposition based on an act that if committed by an adult would be a felony,
misdemeanor, or ordinance violation. 1
The bill repeals section 18m of the juvenile code, 2 which prescribes a minimum payment (the
“minimum state cost”) for a juvenile ordered to pay any combination of fines, costs, restitution,
assessments of payments arising out of the same juvenile proceeding and provides related
procedures. The bill also eliminates related provisions that do the following:
• Require a court to order a juvenile under the court’s jurisdiction under section 2(a)(1)
of the juvenile code to pay costs as provided under section 18m.
• Allow a court to order a juvenile to pay the minimum state cost as a condition of
probation or supervision.
• Allow a juvenile who was ordered to pay the minimum state cost and is not in willful
default to petition for remission of an unpaid portion on the basis of hardship.
Finally, the bill amends section 29, which provides for the allocation of money collected from
a child or the child’s parents in paying fines, costs, restitution, assessment, or other payments
arising out of the same order of disposition. The bill eliminates references to fines, costs, and
assessments and most of the provisions specifying where that money must be allocated.
Instead, the bill provides that 100% of the money collected from a child who is subject to
payment of crime victim payments or other payments (or collected from that child’s parents)
must first be applied to the payment of restitution to a victim or victim’s estate before the
balance can be applied to assessments to the Crime Victim Rights Fund. (As currently, crime
victim payments include restitution ordered under sections 30 and 31 of the juvenile code 3 and
under the William Van Regenmorter Crime Victim’s Rights Act that is paid directly to the
1
1989 PA 196: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-196-of-1989.pdf
2
http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-712A-18m
3
http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-712A-30 and http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-712A-31
House Fiscal Agency SBs 428 and 429 and HBs 4636 and 4637 as enacted Page 2 of 4
 victim or the victim’s estate, as well as assessments to the Crime Victim Rights Fund ordered
under 1989 PA 196.)
MCL 712A.2f et seq.
Senate Bill 429 amends the DNA Profiling System Act, which requires a court to order each
individual convicted of or found responsible for a felony or other crime listed in the act to pay
an assessment of $60 in addition to any other fines, costs, or other assessments imposed by the
court. The bill provides that this assessment does not apply to a juvenile, or a parent, guardian,
or legal custodian of a juvenile, within the jurisdiction of the court under section 2 of the
juvenile code.
MCL 28.176
House Bill 4636 amends the Revised Judicature Act, which requires a person to pay a late
penalty if they fail to pay in full a penalty, fee, or costs ordered by a court within 56 days after
that amount is due. The bill provides that this late penalty does not apply to a juvenile or to a
parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a juvenile within the jurisdiction of the court under
section 2 of the juvenile code.
MCL 600.4803
House Bill 4637 amends Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure to eliminate provisions
that now do the following:
• Require a juvenile who is committed to an institution or agency described in the Youth
Rehabilitation Services Act or the person responsible for the juvenile’s support to be
ordered to reimburse the court for the cost of care and service.
• Allow the court to intercept state or federal tax refunds to recover the costs described
above if the account is delinquent.
• Allow the court to require the juvenile or the person responsible for the juvenile’s
support to reimburse fees for a court-appointed attorney.
MCL 769.1
BACKGROUND:
The Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform was created by Executive Order
2021-6 as a bipartisan advisory body in the Department of Health and Human Services 4 to
“lead a data-driven analysis of [Michigan’s] juvenile justice system and recommend proven
practices and strategies for reform grounded in data, research, and fundamental constitutional
principles.” In particular, in the words of its final report, 5 the task force was “charged with
developing recommendations to improve state law, policy, and appropriations guided by the
following objectives:
• Safely reduce placement in detention and residential placement and associated costs.
• Increase the safety and well-being of youth impacted by the juvenile justice system.
4
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/executiveorder/pdf/2021-EO-06.pdf
5
https://micounties.org/wp-content/uploads/Michigan-Taskforce-on-Juvenile-Justice-Reform-Final-Report.pdf
House Fiscal Agency SBs 428 and 429 and HBs 4636 and 4637 as enacted Page 3 of 4
 • Reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth impacted by the juvenile justice
system.
• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s and counties’ juvenile justice
systems.
• Increase accountability and transparency within the juvenile justice system.
• Better align practices with research and constitutional mandates.”
The task force issued its final report on July 18, 2022. 6
Among its unanimous recommendations was that the state “Eliminate most non-restitution fees
and costs associated with juvenile justice system involvement,” with the goal that “Juvenile
court and probation cannot assess fees/costs except for restitution, or a fee/cost related to the
Crime Victims Fund.”
Senate Bill 428 also incorporate changes, not described above, made by other bills in the larger
juvenile justice package. Specifically, Senate Bill 428 includes changes from House Bill 4628
regarding use of screening tools in consent calendar decisions; changes from Senate Bill 421
concerning a risk and needs assessment before juvenile disposition; and (with one amendment)
changes from House Bill 4633 limiting the period of a consent calendar plan. Generally
speaking, these sorts of inclusions are made to resolve potential conflicts between two different
bills that amend the same section of law and to ensure that the last bill enacted does not
overwrite and undo the changes made by the earlier bill or bills.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the state and on local units of
government. Revenue collected from the payment of fines, fees, and costs by a juvenile, or the
parents of a juvenile on the juvenile’s behalf, would be eliminated. Under the bills, fines, fees,
and costs would no longer be assessed to juveniles involved with the juvenile justice system,
and, beginning October 1, 2024, courts would no longer be authorized to collect on the balance
of any fines, fees, or costs owed by juveniles. If a juvenile is subject to payment of crime victim
payments, 100% of the money collected from the juvenile, or the juvenile’s parents, would be
required to be applied to payment of restitution to a victim or victim’s estate before the balance
could be applied to assessments to the Crime Victim Rights Fund. The amount of revenue that
would be lost by the state and by local units under these bills is unknown and would depend
on factors such as whether violations were violations of state law or local ordinances, the
designated recipients of the revenue from fines, fees, and costs paid, and whether penalties
were assessed for failure to pay fines, fees, or costs within a specified time frame.
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analyst: Robin Risko
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
6
https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2022/07/18/task-force-on-juvenile-justice-reform-
approves-blueprint-for-transforming-juvenile-justice
House Fiscal Agency SBs 428 and 429 and HBs 4636 and 4637 as enacted Page 4 of 4


Statutes affected:
Substitute (H-1): 600.4803
Substitute (H-2): 600.4803
House Introduced Bill: 600.4803
As Passed by the House: 600.4803
As Passed by the Senate: 600.4803
House Concurred Bill: 600.4803
Public Act: 600.4803
House Enrolled Bill: 600.4803