Bill Text: MI SB1009 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced

Michigan Senate Bill 1009 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Corrections; jails; county jail population during a state of emergency related to health; provide procedure to reduce. Amends title & secs. 2, 3, 4, 5 & 9 of 1982 PA 325 (MCL 801.52 et seq.) & adds sec. 5a.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-25 - Referred To Committee On Judiciary And Public Safety [SB1009 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2019-SB1009-Introduced.html

SENATE BILL NO. 1009

June 25, 2020, Introduced by Senators CHANG, IRWIN, GEISS, WOJNO, SANTANA, HERTEL, BAYER and BRINKS and referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

A bill to amend 1982 PA 325, entitled

"An act to authorize county sheriffs to declare a county jail overcrowding state of emergency; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain judges, county sheriffs, and other county officials; and to provide remedies for a county jail overcrowding state of emergency,"

by amending the title and sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 (MCL 801.52, 801.53, 801.54, 801.55, and 801.59), sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 as amended by 2007 PA 140, and by adding section 5a.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

TITLE

An act to authorize county sheriffs to declare a county jail overcrowding state of emergency or a county jail health state of emergency; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain judges, county sheriffs, and other county officials; and to provide remedies for a county jail overcrowding state of emergency and a county jail health state of emergency.

Sec. 2. If the general prisoner population of a county jail exceeds 100% of the rated design capacity of the county jail or a percentage of rated design capacity less than 100% as set by a court before February 8, 1983, for 7 consecutive days or for a lesser number of days as set by a court before February 8, 1983, either of the following occurs with respect to a county jail, the sheriff for that the county shall certify that fact the occurrence in writing, by first-class mail, personal delivery, or electronic communications, to the chief circuit judge, the chief district judge, and each municipal court judge in the county in which the county jail is located, the prosecuting attorney for the county, the chairperson of the county board of commissioners, and the county executive in a county in which a county executive is elected: .

(a) The general prisoner population of a county jail exceeds 100% of the rated design capacity of the county jail or a percentage of rated design capacity less than 100% as set by a court before February 8, 1983 for 7 consecutive days or for a lesser number of days as set by a court before February 8, 1983.

(b) A state of emergency is declared in this state in response to a declaration by the World Health Organization that a disease is a pandemic.

Sec. 3. (1) If, upon receipt of a certification by the sheriff under section 2, 2(a), a majority of the judges and county officials notified pursuant to section 2 do not find that the sheriff acted in error, the sheriff shall declare a county jail overcrowding state of emergency.

(2) If, upon receipt of a certification by the sheriff under section 2(b), a majority of the judges and county officials notified pursuant to section 2 do not find that the sheriff acted in error, the sheriff shall declare a county jail health state of emergency.

Sec. 4. Upon the declaration of a county jail overcrowding state of emergency pursuant to or of a county jail health state of emergency under section 3, the sheriff shall notify both of the following persons in writing, by first-class mail, personal delivery, or electronic communications, that a county jail overcrowding state of the emergency has been declared:

(a) The judges and county officials notified pursuant to section 2.

(b) The chief law enforcement official of each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency located in the county.

Sec. 5. The If a county jail overcrowding state of emergency or a county jail health state of emergency is declared under section 3, the sheriff, the persons notified pursuant to section 4, and other circuit, district, and municipal judges may attempt to reduce the prisoner population of the county jail through any available means which that are already within the scope of their individual and collective legal authority, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Accelerated review and rescheduling of court dates.

(b) Judicial review of bail for possible bail reduction, release on recognizance, or conditional release of prisoners in the county jail.

(d) Judicial use of probation, fines, community service orders, restitution, and delayed sentencing as alternatives to commitment to jail.

(e) Use of work-release, community programs, and other alternative housing arrangements by the sheriff, if the programs and alternative housing arrangements are authorized by law.

(f) Review of agreements which allow other units of government to house their prisoners in the overcrowded county jail to determine whether the agreements may be terminated.

(g) Entering into agreements which allow the sheriff for the county in which the overcrowded county jail is located to house prisoners in facilities operated by other units of government.

(h) Refusal by the sheriff to house persons who are not required by law to be housed in the county jail.

(i) Acceleration of the transfer of prisoners sentenced to the state prison system, and prisoners otherwise under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, to the department of corrections.

(j) Judicial acceleration of pending court proceedings for prisoners under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections who will be returned to the department of corrections regardless of the outcome of the pending proceedings.

(k) Reduction of waiting time for prisoners awaiting examination by the center for forensic psychiatry.

(l) Alternative booking, processing, and housing arrangements, including the use of appearance tickets instead of booking at the county jail and the use of weekend arraignment, for categories of cases considered appropriate by the persons notified pursuant to section 4.

(m) Acceptance by the courts of credit cards for payments of bonds, fines, and court costs.

(n) Use of community mental health and private mental health resources in the county as alternatives to housing prisoners in the county jail for those prisoners who qualify for placement in the programs and for whom placement in the programs is appropriate.

(o) Use of community and private substance abuse programs and other therapeutic programs as alternatives to housing prisoners in the county jail for those prisoners who qualify for placement in the programs and for whom placement in the programs is appropriate.

(p) Preparation of a long-range plan for addressing the a county jail overcrowding problem, if applicable, including recommendations to the county board of commissioners on construction of new jail facilities and funding for construction or other options designed to alleviate the overcrowding problem.

(q) Review of sentencing procedures, including the elimination of delays in preparing presentence reports for prisoners awaiting sentence, and staggering the dates on which prisoners will start serving a jail sentence to minimize fluctuating demands on jail capacity.

Sec. 5a. (1) If a county jail health state of emergency is declared under section 3 and has not ended under section 9, in addition to the means authorized under section 5, the sheriff, the persons notified pursuant to section 4, and other circuit, district, and municipal judges shall attempt to reduce the prisoner population of the county jail through the following means:

(a) The sheriff shall review the outstanding bonds for each prisoner. If the total of a prisoner's outstanding bonds does not exceed a maximum value determined under section 1a(2), the sheriff, subject to the approval of the chief circuit judge in that county, shall modify each outstanding bond for that prisoner to a personal recognizance bond in that same amount, issue to the prisoner a receipt similar to an interim bond receipt, and send a copy of the receipt to the court that set the bond.

(b) The following prisoners, except for any prisoner that the chief circuit judge in that county believes would present a threat to public safety if released, must be released immediately:

(i) Any sentenced prisoner who has served 85% or more of his or her sentence, unless he or she is serving a sentence for a violent or assaultive offense, sex offense, prison or jail escape offense, weapons offense, drunk driving offense, or controlled substance offense except possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance.

(ii) Any prisoner detained in the county jail for a civil contempt adjudication for failure to pay child support who has no other charges pending against him or her.

(c) Except as provided under subsection (2), the sheriff shall present to the chief circuit judge for the county in which the jail is located the information listed under section 6(2). After the chief circuit judge for the county in which the jail is located reviews the information, the chief circuit judge shall, for purposes of county jail population reduction, do both of the following:

(i) Classify prisoners who are serving sentences of imprisonment for conviction of crimes into 2 groups: those prisoners who, if released, would present a high risk to public safety, and those who, if released, would not present a high risk to public safety. The chief circuit judge shall also determine a minimum and a maximum percentage by which the sentences may be reduced. The sheriff shall reduce the sentences of all prisoners who, if released, would not present a high risk to public safety by an equal percentage which is within the minimum and maximum percentages determined by the chief circuit judge.

(ii) Review the list of prisoners housed in the county jail who are not serving a sentence for conviction of crimes and determine for each prisoner whether the release of that prisoner would or would not present a high risk to public safety. The chief circuit judge may do either or both of the following with regard to a prisoner whose release would not present a high risk to public safety:

(A) Modify the bond of the prisoner, subject to any conditions reasonably necessary to ensure the appearance of the individual in court.

(B) Release the prisoner subject to the condition that he or she be placed on electronic monitoring.

(d) The sheriff shall reduce the original sentences, not including good time, of all prisoners sentenced to and housed in the county jail on that date by a percentage not to exceed 30%.

(e) Except as provided under subsection (3), the sheriff shall defer acceptance for incarceration in the general population of the county jail individuals sentenced to or otherwise committed to the county jail for incarceration.

(2) Subsection (1)(c) does not apply to a prisoner who is detained in the county jail in connection with a crime or an allegation of a crime in which the victim was a spouse, a former spouse, an individual with whom he or she has had a child in common, an individual residing or having resided in the same household, or an individual with whom he or she has or has had a dating relationship as that term is defined in section 2950 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2950.

(3) The sheriff must not defer acceptance of an individual for incarceration under subsection (1)(e) if either of the following applies:

(a) The individual is under sentence for or charged with violent or assaultive crimes, sex offenses, escape from prison or jail, drunk driving offenses, controlled substance offenses except possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance, or weapons offenses.

(b) The sheriff or the sentencing judge presents to the chief circuit judge for the county in which the county jail is located information alleging that deferring acceptance of the individual for incarceration would constitute a threat to public safety and the chief circuit judge, based upon the presence of a threat to public safety, approves of accepting the individual for incarceration.

Sec. 9. If either any of the following occur, the sheriff shall certify that fact in writing by first-class mail or personal delivery, to the judges and county officials notified pursuant to section 2 and, unless a majority of the judges and county officials so notified find upon receipt of the certification pursuant to under this section that the sheriff has acted in error, the sheriff shall end the county jail overcrowding state of emergency or the county jail health state of emergency, as applicable:

(a) At any time during the county jail overcrowding state of emergency, the general prisoner population of the county jail is reduced to the level prescribed in section 6(1).

(b) The county jail's population is not reduced to the level prescribed in section 6(1) within 70 days after the declaration of the county jail overcrowding state of emergency.