By Ben Solis
Staff Writer
Posted: July 10, 2023 11:44 AM

Lawmakers and criminal justice leaders behind a push to codify key recommendations from Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force remain confident the reforms would keep more minors out of the juvenile justice system and ultimately save the state money in the process.

That includes Rep. Kara Hope (D-Holt) and Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), two key lawmakers sponsoring separate packages in the House and Senate. They and one of the bills' most ardent supporters – Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement – told Gongwer News Service in recent interviews that package was guided by a set of recommendations that were well informed through stakeholder input and easy to codify because the reforms make sense.

They also said this has become a priority for legislative leaders with the Legislature beginning its summer break, and that observers could see the bills move and pass by September.

Not all agree with the changes, however, as some opposition has formed to at least one of the bills in the package, HB 4625 , which the Michigan Sheriffs' Association in written testimony to the House Criminal Justice Committee said would eliminate from exclusion specific assaultive crimes that currently serve as disqualifier for juvenile eligibility for diversion.

Still, Hope and her allies on the legislation, including Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), say the packages can pass with bipartisan support and make real change.

"People are enthusiastic about the juvenile justice package. They would like to see our juvenile justice system improve, and I think that's a view that's shared by our Republican counterparts," Hope said in an interview. "Every type of expert or specialist was represented on the commission. I feel like they've given us a good product to start from, and I don't think this will be terribly painful. It's just a lot."

There is still some work to be done, the triumvirate said, such as holding additional hearings before the packages can be moved to the floors in their respective changes. Codifying the rest of the 30-plus recommendations made by the task force and adopted in late 2022 will be another heavy lift.

The current packages expand diversion opportunities for youth who are not a public safety risk, create a statewide juvenile public defense system and establish best practice standards.

Just six of those recommendations, which are considered some of the top-line recommendations, however, would be codified into law through the two packages. That means there's room for another legislative package addressing those recommendations left further down the line, which Hope said would be a focus going forward.

That could mean some summer committee meetings in July to get the package to the House floor for a vote and then, if it passes, to the governor's desk, Hope added.

"I know that's a little unusual, but there's so much work to be done here," she said. "I feel like we lost some time over the course of the term … so I'm trying to make up some of that time over the summer and I would like to have these voted on over the summer if possible. "I realize that might be a little bit of a challenge, but my hope would be to have these voted out of committee before we return in September, and then hopefully, it would be some something of a fast track in the full House."

The House bills – which have received at least one hearing before the Criminal Justice Committee – include various changes to screening and risk assessment tools for minors placed in diversion programs and court alternatives and to rules on detaining juveniles in certain circumstances. Additionally, the Legislature would expand laws governing the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission to also allow appellate defenders for youth.

A key proposal in the package increases individual counties' Child Care Fund reimbursement rate, which several advocates giving testimony on Tuesday said would be the driving factor in seeing the reforms take hold.

Another would see the expansion of the Office of Children's Ombudsman to handle and investigate reports and incidents at juvenile facilities and throughout the child welfare system (See Gongwer Michigan Report, June 20, 2023).

The House package includes 20 bills: HB 4624 , HB 4625, HB 4626 , HB 4627 , HB 4628 , HB 4629 , HB 4630 , HB 4631 , HB 4632 , HB 4633 , HB 4634 , HB 4635 , HB 4636 , HB 4637 , HB 4638 , HB 4639 , HB 4640 , HB 4641 , HB 4642 and HB 4643 .

Hope is sponsoring two of the 20 bills, which would limit the length of time a youth can be placed in a pre-court diversion program, and another that would eliminate juvenile fines, fees and costs.

A package of nearly identical bills was introduced last week in the Senate, Chang said.

The Senate package runs a similar gamut with 20 bills: SB 418 , SB 419 , SB 420 , SB 421 , SB 422 , SB 423 , SB 424 , SB 425 , SB 426 , SB 427 , SB 428 , SB 429 , SB 430 , SB 431 , SB 432 , SB 433 , SB 434 , SB 435 , SB 436 and SB 437 .

Chang also sponsors two of the bills in the Senate package, another to eliminate fees, fines and costs and one amending references to the Children's Ombudsman in the state's child protection law to "child advocate."

She, like Hope and her Democratic colleagues, Chang says she wants to make sure the bills get on a fast track but still is working out whether that would include some summer committee meetings of the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee , of which Chang is the chair.

"We're definitely eager to get these moving. They're a big priority for me, and for Sen. Sylvia Santana. It's very bipartisan in both chambers. We really just believe that these are great policy ideas that will bring a lot of good reforms and updates to our justice system. So, they'll work hard to get it done."

Clement, who sat on the task force, previously testified in support of the House package in June.

In an interview with Gongwer, Clement said the various sponsors of the House and Senate package understood what the consensus was among the group as far as priorities when it came time to transform the task force findings into law.

"I've been working in that area for so many years, and I have said repeatedly that that the fact that we are able to prioritize youth in the (juvenile justice) system is because of the leadership of the governor and lieutenant governor to get the task force started," Clement said.

She was also happy to see each member sponsoring parts of the package, on both sides of the aisle, which made her feel like everyone was on the same page when it came to understanding the importance of the pending reforms.

"The support that we are seeing from individual legislators and from the Legislature, as a whole, for youth in the JJ system is overwhelming," Clement said. "But this (legislation) is such a crucial piece. There's a lot of work that can be done in departments or rule changes, but the legislative changes that we need, we knew that that partnership was going to be key."

Clement added that "seeing that support, being at that first committee hearing to talk about this package, seeing that room filled with so many people that were not only involved in the task force, but many that were not involved in the task force, but care about juvenile justice, was tremendous."

Clement was among those during that June 20 Criminal Justice Committee meeting who noted that there were other recommendations the task force wanted placed into law.

When asked about how the House would work to check off the remaining recommendations, Hope said the package in her chamber has always been considered a good first step, especially since pushing all the recommendations at one time would simply be too much to process.

"Six recommendations resulted in 20 bills, so it's going be a process over years, not just months, not just one term probably," Hope said.

Almost all the in-person and written testimony delivered to the Criminal Justice Committee last month was indeed positive and supportive of the reforms. That said, the state's sheriffs remain concerned about one of the bills.

HB 4625 proposes eliminating assaultive crimes from a list of prohibited offenses when it came time for a judge to determine whether a youth would be diverted out of the juvenile justice system.

Matt Saxton, CEO and executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association, wrote that the crimes of manslaughter, mayhem, felonious assault in a school zone, assault with intent to do great bodily harm or suffocation, assault to commit a felony, unarmed robbery and a prisoner taking someone hostage were among those that should warrant disqualification from diversion.

"Each of these offenses involve an intentional act involving the use or threatened use of force or violence against an innocent victim," Saxton wrote. "Each of these offenses has the potential for causing physical injury and harm to the victim. The offense of manslaughter results in the death of a victim, and mayhem results in a person suffering great pain as they are maimed or mutilated by an offender."

That amounted to a red line for the sheriffs' support, he said.

"The MSA supports a juvenile justice system that creates outcomes that result in a balanced approach, one that takes into account the best interests of the child philosophy but not to the detriment of public safety," Saxton wrote. "MSA believes that HB 4625 is counterproductive to public safety and that it discounts the trauma experienced by victims and the additional potential adverse impacts that could have occurred."

Saxton said the bills that MSA has chosen to support – HB 4624, HB 4626, HB 4627, HB 4628, HB 4629, HB 4631, HB 4632 and HB 4633 – would bring positive balance to the system.

As for bridging the gap on juvenile justice reforms between the Democrats who control the chambers and their GOP colleagues in the minority, Hope said she has not had much conversation about the reforms with her Republican colleagues other than what was presented to her committee last month. She did say, however, that having Lightner on board was a big deal and that it signaled that Republican support could be obtained up as the process continues.

Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Groveland Township), Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) and Sen. Roger Victory (R-Georgetown Township) each are sponsoring bills in the senate package, broadening GOP support.

The chief justice said much of the same and regarded Lightner has having some sway with conservative Republicans in the House.

"I've worked with (Lightner) on juvenile justice issues for a number of years. She's a conservative and she sees the benefit and has been right there with us on the task force and even before on juvenile justice issues," Clement said. "I think there's a lot of, regardless of party affiliation, people that understand that many times we're failing kids in the child welfare system, and this is where they're ending up. And many times, kids face challenges these days we need to make sure that what we're doing and what we're responsible for is really aimed at helping them get back on the on the right track."

Clement, who was appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder, also said there was a financial argument to be made that could ease some worries from fiscal conservatives. She pointed to the state's problem-solving courts as an example.

"Twenty-plus years ago when we started down this path, there were a lot of people that's not how the justice system is supposed to work, or this is how it's always worked, she said. "But we did our work on the front end, showing through data and through the money that is being invested into this, this is the return on that investment, and we prove to those naysayers that these programs save lives, they work and it's a different way of doing things."

Clement said the task force and the legislators behind the reforms can do the same thing with juvenile justice.

"It comes down to the very same issue that it does on the adult side with problem solving courts, and that is that I've never met someone that doesn't have a family member or a friend that hasn't experienced some issue that has gotten them into a problem-solving court," she said. "I have never met anyone that doesn't have a family member or a friend who knows a child or a young adult that has faced challenges and has made bad decisions and may possibly have interacted with the juvenile justice system."

– By Ben Solis