On March 1, Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township, introduced Senate Bill 120, which would reform the Michigan Corrections Code to make juvenile offenders who are sentenced to life imprisonment eligible for parole no matter the severity of their crimes, provided they have served at least 10 years of their sentence.

Read it for yourself: Senate Bill 120

The bill is tie-barred with four Senate bills and five House bills—all introduced by Democrats. The bills would, taken together, categorically prohibit state courts from sentencing juvenile offenders to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. For any one of these bills to take effect, all must be signed into law.

Michigan considers a juvenile offender to be anyone less than 19 years old when the crime was committed.

The legislation would also apply retroactively, costing the state around $1.6 million for resentencing hearings that would be required.

Michigan could save an estimated $69 million in the long run, since reducing sentences reduces incarceration costs and “juvenile lifer resentencing hearings most always result in a reduced sentence than that of life,” according to the Senate Fiscal Agency’s analysis of the bill.

Criminal repercussions for crimes committed by minors became more lenient within the past decade. Michigan court cases People v. Parks and People v. Stovall, both from 2022, called for ending mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juveniles who committed first- and second-degree murder.

U.S. Supreme Court cases from the past decade have also moved toward exempting juvenile crimes from severe sentences.

The most recent, Jones v. Mississippi, held that “sentencing an offender who was under 18 at the time of the crime raises special constitutional considerations.” While the court allowed for juveniles to receive life sentences without parole (as long as the sentence is not mandatory), it said, “Our holding today does not preclude the States from imposing additional sentencing limits in cases involving defendants under 18 convicted of murder.”

States may categorically prohibit life without parole for all offenders under 18, per Jones v. Mississippi. This categorical prohibition is what Senate Bill 120 and its companion bills aim to codify into law, reports Michigan Advance.

The bills have been referred to the Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety.

The legislation must advance through the committee before the Democratic-controlled House and Senate can vote.

Therese Boudreaux is a Michigan Capitol Confidential intern.

The Michigan Senate last week passed a bill to expand the range of green projects that could be funded under the 2010 Property-Assessed Clean Energy Act, or PACE Act.

Sen. Kristen McDonald-Rivet, D-Bay City, on April 27 introduced Senate Bill 303. The bill is tie-barred with Senate Bill 302, meaning that both bills must be signed into law to be enacted.

According to the Senate Fiscal Agency analysis, “the bills would expand the scope of the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act to allow a local unit of government to contract and finance for an environmental hazard project and allow it to do so with more properties in its jurisdiction.”

Read it for yourself: Senate Bill 303 of 2023

Senate Bill 302 of 2023

The current PACE program only allows for government loans to promote “energy efficiency improvement[s]” and “energy projects.” Under the current program, homeowners can use government money to improve or to add a green energy system for their houses or businesses.

The Senate package would increase the scope of this legislation to cover environmental hazard projects as well. The bill specifies that these projects must meet at least one of four qualifications:

1. Mitigate lead, heavy metal, or PFAS contamination in potable water systems,
2. Mitigate the effects of floods or drought,
3. Increase the resistance of property against severe weather, or
4. Mitigate lead paint contamination.

The bill states that “improved public health” and “protection against climate hazards” would be accepted as justification for these government-sponsored loans.

Both SB 302 and SB 303 were approved by identical 24-14 votes of the Senate on May 24, records show. Both were referred to the House Energy Committee.

The Mackinac Center opposes not only this proposition, but the PACE program itself.

Extending the governmental reach of these subsidies would not make this program any more desirable, for two primary reasons. The first issue is that the current law only allows for “the acquisition, installation, or improvement of a renewable energy system or anaerobic digester energy system installation.” This new proposal, however, would remove the word “improvement” and include the word “replacement.” This would let homeowners continue to take out these loans, with fewer restrictions, for an unlisted amount of home renovations and in support of green energy.

Expanding a government-funded program that already supports the most heavily subsidized form of energy to further encourage its use is not a step Michigan should take.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation published a report that noted wind and solar energy have received 17 and 75 times more subsidies than their fossil fuel and nuclear competitors over the last 10 years.

This sort of assistance warps energy markets by promoting energy that requires taxpayer dollars to compete.

Ewan Hayes is a Michigan Capitol Confidential intern.