INMATE REENTRY SERVICE PROVIDERS                                                               S.B. 9:

                                                                                  SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 9 (as introduced 1-18-17)

Sponsor:  Senator John Proos

Committee:  Michigan Competitiveness

Date Completed:  1-25-17

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Corrections Code to require the Department of Corrections (DOC) to allow representatives of various organizations to register with the Department to enter correctional facilities in order to provide inmate reentry services, and require the DOC to develop policies and procedures for screening, approving, and registering organizations and their representatives.

Specifically, subject to the policies and procedures it adopted for screening and approving applicants, the DOC would have to allow representatives from all nonprofit faith-based, business and professional, civic, and community organizations that applied, to be registered with the Department to enter correctional facilities in the State for the purpose of providing inmate reentry services. Reentry services would include, but not be limited to, counseling, providing information on housing and job placement, and money management assistance.

The Department would have to develop and adopt policies and procedures for screening, approving, and registering organizations and representatives from the organizations listed above that applied to provide inmate reentry services. The DOC could deny approval and registration to an organization or representative if the Department determined that the organization or representative did not meet its screening guidelines.

The DOC would retain discretion to deny entry into a correctional facility at any time to a representative of a listed organization, regardless of whether he or she previously applied to and was registered with the Department to provide inmate reentry services within a correctional facility.

The DOC would have to post a Department telephone number and provide a registration application on its public internet website for use by representatives from an organization described above who wished to provide inmate reentry services, to obtain information and begin the application process for registration.

The DOC would be prohibited from endorsing or sponsoring any faith-based reentry program or endorsing any specific religious message. The Department also could not require an inmate to participate in a faith-based program.

The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.

Proposed MCL 791.269b                                               Legislative Analyst:  Suzanne Lowe

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.

                                                                                       Fiscal Analyst:  Ryan Bergan

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.