DELTA TOWNSHIP, MI – The next cycle of Michigan ballot initiatives officially kicked off Friday as the state elections board advanced a petition that would reduce sentences for prisoners showing good behavior.
The bipartisan Board of State Canvassers approved, 4-0, a 76-word summary that non-profit social welfare organization Michigan Justice Advocacy can put on its signature sheets. The group now only needs to submit its final petition layout to the Bureau of Elections to start collecting signatures.
The organization’s proposed law would knock off 30 days from prisoners’ sentences for every month they don’t commit “Class I Misconduct.” Think things like assaulting another prisoner, getting caught with dangerous contraband or inciting a riot.
A majority of prisoners – both into the future and retroactively – would be eligible for so-called “good time” credit, which Michigan Justice Advocacy says on its website would incentivize prisoners who understand their mistakes and are dedicated to rehabilitation.
The group argues it is needed because incarceration costs have risen and sentences have unnecessarily grown over time with mandatory minimum laws, which require prisoners to serve at least their full minimum sentences. Michigan’s law, Truth in Sentencing, eliminated a similar time credit program when Republican Gov. John Engler signed the law in 1998.
If the Good Time initiative gathers the required 356,958 valid signatures within a 180-day period, it can go on the November 2024 ballot or be taken up beforehand by the legislature, which has Democratic majorities in both chambers.
This is the first possible 2024 ballot item to be considered by the state canvassing board, which certifies petitions, their language and eventual signatures.
Canvassers during their Friday meeting struggled to decide whether to approve the petition summary written by state elections director Jonathan Brater, because no one from Michigan Justice Advocacy was present to help them understand the specifics of the proposal.
Assistant Attorney General Erik Grill told the board this was the first time the sponsor wasn’t present for this kind of decision. No opposition group was present either.
Canvassers approved slightly amended language that states the Good Time initiative would repeal only portions of the Truth in Sentencing law.
Here is the approved language:
“Initiation of legislation to: reinstate a good time credit program that allows prisoners to earn good time credits that reduce sentences by 30 days per month in each month a prisoner is not found guilty of a major misconduct such as violent or dangerous activity, and repeal portions of Truth in Sentencing law that established mandatory minimum sentences extended by disciplinary time for misconduct; apply law retroactively to all prisoners in the Michigan Department of Corrections.”
Read more from MLive:
Michigan AG files appeal to return Enbridge Line 5 case to state court
Stabenow, Peters say federal gun safety reforms needed after MSU shooting
Michigan takes another shot at changing 72-hour deer kill reporting requirements
FBI says man threatened to kill Michigan AG Nessel, other Jewish officials
Northern Michigan, Kalamazoo see rise in COVID-19 infections