PRISONER VISITATION S.B. 345: FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 345 (as reported by the Committee of the Whole) Sponsor: Senator William Van Regenmorter
Committee: Judiciary
The bill would amend the Department of Corrections law to specify that a prisoner could not be allowed to have a visit involving the possibility of physical contact with the offender’s victim or with a person who was less than 18 years of age, if the prisoner had been convicted of committing or attempting criminal sexual conduct in the first, second, third, or fourth degree or gross indecency between males, between females, or between a male and a female, and if any victim of those offenses were less than 18 when the offense occurred.
Proposed MCL 791.268 Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
The bill would result in minimal costs for the Department of Corrections, for identifying prisoners who had previous convictions of offenses that would preclude them from visits with people under the age of 18. Depending on how the bill would be implemented, there would be no additional costs or significant additional costs. If the Department implemented the bill simply by denying the affected prisoners visits with minors, in facilities without noncontact visiting areas, there would be no additional costs. On the other hand, if the Department chose to provide separate noncontact visiting areas at the prisons without them, the Department would incur significant costs.
Date Completed: 4-27-95 Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
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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.