LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING ON

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

House Bill 4640 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Vanessa Guerra

Committee:  Law and Justice

Complete to 5-29-17

REVISED SUMMARY:

House Bill 4640 would amend the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) Act by adding required training in assessing situations that may involve female genital mutilation.

MCOLES provides for universal training standards for any individual seeking to become licensed in any of the following positions:

·         Law enforcement officers.

·         Tribal law enforcement officers who are subject to written instruments authorizing them to enforce the laws of the state.

·         Fire arson investigators from fire departments within villages, cities, townships, or counties in the state who are sworn and fully empowered by the chiefs of police of those villages, cities, townships, or counties.

·         Other individuals who meet all of the following conditions:

o   Are employed as private college security officers under Section 37 of the Private Security Business and Security Alarm Act;

o   Seek licensure under the MCOLES Act; and

o   Are sworn and fully empowered by a chief of police of a village, city, or township law enforcement agency, or are deputized by a county sheriff as a deputy sheriff, excluding deputation as a special deputy

 

The bill would add a training requirement for an individual seeking become licensed under the act. Under the bill, an individual would have to complete training that is designed to assist law enforcement officers in assessing situations that may involve female genital mutilation. The training would have to include education on what female genital mutilation is and what are the criminal penalties for committing female genital mutilation, as well as the emotional and health effects on a victim of female genital mutilation. Although the training materials would have to include the above information, they would not be limited to only those.

The bill would also mandate that the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards promulgate rules establishing the minimum standards for the above-required training. In addition, a law enforcement officer who is licensed under MCOLES but has not completed this training would be required to do so no later than January 1, 2019, to maintain licensure.

House Bill 4640 is tie-barred to House Bills 4636 and 4637, which means it could not take effect unless those bills were enacted.  Those bills make it a crime to knowingly perform female genital mutilation (FGM) or transport another person from Michigan for the purpose of undergoing FGM within the state.

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 4640 would result in indeterminate costs to the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) and local law enforcement agencies. MCOLES reports that it would require funding to research and develop standards and instructional material related to female genital mutilation, and would need additional funds to distribute amongst its trainers throughout the state to provide training for licensure. This bill would require all current and future MCOLES-certified, licensed law enforcement officers to receive the training. As of April 2017, there are a total of 18,478 law enforcement officers in Michigan.

MCOLES would likely distribute funds across the state for in-service training in a manner similar to the distributions made to support changes in concealed weapons licensing training. According to HFA records, between FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10, the Legislature appropriated $240,000 per year for concealed weapons enforcement training, and between FY 2010-11 and FY 2013-14 appropriated $100,000 per year for concealed weapons enforcement training. While these funds were supported by restricted revenues from concealed weapons-related fees, the training requirements of this bill would likely be supported by GF/GP revenue.

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Emily S. Smith

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Kent Dell

■ 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.