By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Bills that would increase penalties for criminal sexual conduct and add more stipulations to the revolving door lobbying legislation cleared the House on Wednesday.
The sexual conduct bills, HB 6260, HB 6261, HB 6262 and HB 6263, would create mandatory minimum sentences for criminal sexual conduct.
For first-degree criminal sexual conduct, the mandatory minimum would be 15 years. The mandatory minimum would be 10 years for second-degree and five years for third-degree. There would not be a minimum sentence for fourth degree, but it would be characterized as a felony.
Second-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct maximum terms would also be raised from 15 years to life.
HB 6261 also allows for lifetime electric monitoring of a perpetrator when the victim is under 13 years old.
The House Judiciary Committee reported the bills earlier in the day along party lines.
Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, one of the bill sponsors, said in committee that the punishment of the crimes should reflect the actions taken.
“Criminal sexual conduct is not merely a violation of the law; it is a profound violence of human dignity, a destructive act that shatters lives, families, and communities,” Bollin said. “The trauma inflicted by this offense is often a life sentence for the survivors, yet our current sentencing guidelines fail to reflect the true gravity of this devastation.”
Although there is no cost analysis on the bills so far, in response to concerns from Rep. Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, Bollin said, “there is no cost too high to protect our children.”
The bills faced major criticism from the Democrats on the committee.
Rep. Kelly Breen, D-Novi, said the bills seem “haphazard,” without analyses and support that additional time served makes a difference in the crime rate.
She said there was no evidence of mandatory minimums as a deterrent, and that stakeholders have not had the opportunity to fully weigh in.
Breen also wondered why House Republicans would take up such new bills when the human trafficking package as well as the requests to investigate Jeffrey Epstein allegations at Interlochen Center for the Arts have sat for a long time.
Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, another one of the bill sponsors, said that the nature of the crimes makes it difficult to establish a specific percentage of recidivism, and that the figures came from “research done by stakeholders.” Tisdel later told Gongwer News Service that they were based on similar crime categories.
Breen also said she did not want to circumvent the work of the Michigan Sentencing Commission with the bills. However, Bollin said that after waiting for the commission to convene for a few years, this measure could not wait for the commission.
Rep. Kara Hope, D-Holt, spoke out about her own experience with sexual assault, saying that the bills were “an affront to survivors” and “disingenuous” due to the lack of research in the bill.
In a statement after committee, Hope said she had not planned to share her personal experience on Wednesday, as she only shared her history of sexual abuse with her husband and her therapist.
“Too often, people who say they are speaking or acting for sexual abuse victims are not,” she said in the statement. “These people do not know what they’re talking about. And sometimes, they just don’t care about survivors. Instead, they are hijacking the real hurt caused by sexual abuse to manipulate people. It is sickening and disheartening.”
She called the bills a “political football.”
“This was and is a sick attempt to get the Democrats they perceive as politically vulnerable on the record against longer penalties for sexual abuse,” Hope continued. “It’s the same old “soft on crime” sideshow that politicians have dragged out in moments of desperation for as long as I’ve been alive. And let’s be real: the same Republican representatives who voted to increase CSC penalties also passively rejected amendments that would actually help survivors get justice. Actions speak louder than words.”
She also criticized the bills for having the potential to cause an increase in the prison population, a system that already has complications.
Chair Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, argued back that with the heinousness of the crime, she is not sure the bills go far enough.
“This was foolish on me to hope that perhaps revealing my own situation would give me a little bit of a little more credibility. Of course, I don't support criminal sexual conduct. Of course, I don't want them on the streets,” Hope replied.
Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, said the length of the sentences doesn’t matter because “a person that is intent on doing any of this doesn't give a damn about the sentence.”
The bills only had opposition from organizations in committee, including from Safe and Just Michigan, the ACLU of Michigan and the State Appellate Defenders’ Office.
Kyle Zawacki, legislative director for the ACLU of Michigan, told Gongwer they opposed the bills because “most people who commit a crime do not weigh out ‘I'm going to go from 10 years to 15 years.’”
“What do we want the criminal legal system to be? Do we want it to be a system where people have the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and can contribute members of society, or are we just going to throw people away and lock them up?” Zawacki said.
Both Hope and Breen attempted to tie bar the legislation with statute of limitations bills and the Epstein resolution, and both attempts failed.
The bills were voted out with significant bipartisan support following the Democratic backlash in committee.
HB 6259 was voted 77-26, HB 6260 was voted 79-24, HB 6261 was voted 78-25, HB 6262 was voted 77-26 and HB 6263 was voted 76-24.
HB 6282, sponsored by Rep. Parker Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs, was voted out of the chamber with bipartisan support after being discharged from the Government Operations Committee. The bill looks to prohibit former state legislators from accepting employment with an entity that receives a grant from the Utility Consumer Participation Board. The employment ban would be in place for two years and a violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to 90 days, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.
Fairbairn said to correct the deck being “stacked in favor of an elite few and well-connected desires,” the “sweetheart deals” must end.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed some of the bills in the so-called “revolving door” package including two-year cooling off period before state lawmakers can register as lobbyists.
Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, one of the sponsors of the overall plan, told reporters after the vote that there was not a great answer as to why this bill was not part of the original package signed, but they came back to fix it because “it’s a very popular issue.”
The bill passed 88-15.
HB 6302, sponsored by Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, was also approved with bipartisan support after being discharged from the Government Operations Committee. The bill requires the board of a school district to ensure that a United States flag is displayed, hoisted, draped or placed in a stand or post in a prominent location in each classroom or other instructional site where students recite the Pledge of Allegiance alongside a just being present in the classroom, which is already in law.
Maddock said that the bill means to teach civics and reminds children of “that this nation is worth knowing.”
The bill passed 75-27.
The House took up multiple resolutions as well including
HR 373, which called for the condemnation of socialism, in which Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, and Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay, attacked the policies of Democratic Socialists in the state. While some Democrats wanted a rebuttal to the resolution, it was denied and then adopted 58-34, with Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, as the lone Democrat to vote yes on the resolution.
DeBoyer has been on the campaign trail as the lieutenant governor candidate with Republican gubernatorial candidate John James, in which fighting socialism has become a central talking point amid multiple progressive candidates in key races in Michigan.
After the vote, Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, said the House Republicans were attempting to ask them to “denounce free political speech” instead of addressing gas prices. She said instead, the Republicans denied the chance to tie bar the gas tax holiday onto multiple bills.
Gongwer News Service
Bills that would increase penalties for criminal sexual conduct and add more stipulations to the revolving door lobbying legislation cleared the House on Wednesday.
The sexual conduct bills, HB 6260, HB 6261, HB 6262 and HB 6263, would create mandatory minimum sentences for criminal sexual conduct.
For first-degree criminal sexual conduct, the mandatory minimum would be 15 years. The mandatory minimum would be 10 years for second-degree and five years for third-degree. There would not be a minimum sentence for fourth degree, but it would be characterized as a felony.
Second-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct maximum terms would also be raised from 15 years to life.
HB 6261 also allows for lifetime electric monitoring of a perpetrator when the victim is under 13 years old.
The House Judiciary Committee reported the bills earlier in the day along party lines.
Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, one of the bill sponsors, said in committee that the punishment of the crimes should reflect the actions taken.
“Criminal sexual conduct is not merely a violation of the law; it is a profound violence of human dignity, a destructive act that shatters lives, families, and communities,” Bollin said. “The trauma inflicted by this offense is often a life sentence for the survivors, yet our current sentencing guidelines fail to reflect the true gravity of this devastation.”
Although there is no cost analysis on the bills so far, in response to concerns from Rep. Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, Bollin said, “there is no cost too high to protect our children.”
The bills faced major criticism from the Democrats on the committee.
Rep. Kelly Breen, D-Novi, said the bills seem “haphazard,” without analyses and support that additional time served makes a difference in the crime rate.
She said there was no evidence of mandatory minimums as a deterrent, and that stakeholders have not had the opportunity to fully weigh in.
Breen also wondered why House Republicans would take up such new bills when the human trafficking package as well as the requests to investigate Jeffrey Epstein allegations at Interlochen Center for the Arts have sat for a long time.
Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, another one of the bill sponsors, said that the nature of the crimes makes it difficult to establish a specific percentage of recidivism, and that the figures came from “research done by stakeholders.” Tisdel later told Gongwer News Service that they were based on similar crime categories.
Breen also said she did not want to circumvent the work of the Michigan Sentencing Commission with the bills. However, Bollin said that after waiting for the commission to convene for a few years, this measure could not wait for the commission.
Rep. Kara Hope, D-Holt, spoke out about her own experience with sexual assault, saying that the bills were “an affront to survivors” and “disingenuous” due to the lack of research in the bill.
In a statement after committee, Hope said she had not planned to share her personal experience on Wednesday, as she only shared her history of sexual abuse with her husband and her therapist.
“Too often, people who say they are speaking or acting for sexual abuse victims are not,” she said in the statement. “These people do not know what they’re talking about. And sometimes, they just don’t care about survivors. Instead, they are hijacking the real hurt caused by sexual abuse to manipulate people. It is sickening and disheartening.”
She called the bills a “political football.”
“This was and is a sick attempt to get the Democrats they perceive as politically vulnerable on the record against longer penalties for sexual abuse,” Hope continued. “It’s the same old “soft on crime” sideshow that politicians have dragged out in moments of desperation for as long as I’ve been alive. And let’s be real: the same Republican representatives who voted to increase CSC penalties also passively rejected amendments that would actually help survivors get justice. Actions speak louder than words.”
She also criticized the bills for having the potential to cause an increase in the prison population, a system that already has complications.
Chair Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, argued back that with the heinousness of the crime, she is not sure the bills go far enough.
“This was foolish on me to hope that perhaps revealing my own situation would give me a little bit of a little more credibility. Of course, I don't support criminal sexual conduct. Of course, I don't want them on the streets,” Hope replied.
Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, said the length of the sentences doesn’t matter because “a person that is intent on doing any of this doesn't give a damn about the sentence.”
The bills only had opposition from organizations in committee, including from Safe and Just Michigan, the ACLU of Michigan and the State Appellate Defenders’ Office.
Kyle Zawacki, legislative director for the ACLU of Michigan, told Gongwer they opposed the bills because “most people who commit a crime do not weigh out ‘I'm going to go from 10 years to 15 years.’”
“What do we want the criminal legal system to be? Do we want it to be a system where people have the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and can contribute members of society, or are we just going to throw people away and lock them up?” Zawacki said.
Both Hope and Breen attempted to tie bar the legislation with statute of limitations bills and the Epstein resolution, and both attempts failed.
The bills were voted out with significant bipartisan support following the Democratic backlash in committee.
HB 6259 was voted 77-26, HB 6260 was voted 79-24, HB 6261 was voted 78-25, HB 6262 was voted 77-26 and HB 6263 was voted 76-24.
HB 6282, sponsored by Rep. Parker Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs, was voted out of the chamber with bipartisan support after being discharged from the Government Operations Committee. The bill looks to prohibit former state legislators from accepting employment with an entity that receives a grant from the Utility Consumer Participation Board. The employment ban would be in place for two years and a violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to 90 days, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.
Fairbairn said to correct the deck being “stacked in favor of an elite few and well-connected desires,” the “sweetheart deals” must end.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed some of the bills in the so-called “revolving door” package including two-year cooling off period before state lawmakers can register as lobbyists.
Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, one of the sponsors of the overall plan, told reporters after the vote that there was not a great answer as to why this bill was not part of the original package signed, but they came back to fix it because “it’s a very popular issue.”
The bill passed 88-15.
HB 6302, sponsored by Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, was also approved with bipartisan support after being discharged from the Government Operations Committee. The bill requires the board of a school district to ensure that a United States flag is displayed, hoisted, draped or placed in a stand or post in a prominent location in each classroom or other instructional site where students recite the Pledge of Allegiance alongside a just being present in the classroom, which is already in law.
Maddock said that the bill means to teach civics and reminds children of “that this nation is worth knowing.”
The bill passed 75-27.
The House took up multiple resolutions as well including
HR 373, which called for the condemnation of socialism, in which Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, and Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay, attacked the policies of Democratic Socialists in the state. While some Democrats wanted a rebuttal to the resolution, it was denied and then adopted 58-34, with Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, as the lone Democrat to vote yes on the resolution.
DeBoyer has been on the campaign trail as the lieutenant governor candidate with Republican gubernatorial candidate John James, in which fighting socialism has become a central talking point amid multiple progressive candidates in key races in Michigan.
After the vote, Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, said the House Republicans were attempting to ask them to “denounce free political speech” instead of addressing gas prices. She said instead, the Republicans denied the chance to tie bar the gas tax holiday onto multiple bills.
