South Michigan News

Michigan Rep. Bronna Kahle (R-Adrian) recently added her support to a bipartisan plan aimed at reducing criminal recidivism by making it easier for those with a minor criminal history to become productive members of society.

The Michigan House Republicans website states that the goal of the plan would be to remove barriers that prevent “people who commit minor infractions” from re-entering the workforce.

“Hundreds of thousands of people each year have their driver’s licenses suspended for missing a court date or not paying a fine on time, and then land in jail when they continue to drive to work after their license has been suspended,” Kahle said, according to Michigan House Republicans. “We all agree that dangerous drivers should not be on the road -- but taking away a person’s driver’s license has become our default penalty to enforce dozens of rules that have nothing to do with driving safety.”

Findings by the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration have shown the jail population in the state tripling over the past 35 years, according to Michigan House Republicans. Yet, the third-most-common reason for people entering jail is driving with a suspended license.

To address the problem, Kahle has proposed legislation that would prevent people from having their licenses suspended for reasons unrelated to “dangerous driving” violations. It would also raise the bar for what kind of traffic violations require a court appearance.

“Jail is good for removing a dangerous person from society while the courts handle their case,” Kahle told Michigan House Republicans. “But people also go to jail in huge numbers for low-level, nonviolent offenses, technical violations of their probation rules, or simply missing a court date. That’s not what jail is for.”

In addition to dealing with the license suspension issue, the legislation would also address mandatory-minimum sentences for some offenses, returning the power over sentencing decisions to the judges who are familiar with the facts of the case.

Kahle’s legislation would also give greater discretion to law enforcement to write citations, rather than arresting people, for some offenses, permit the resolution of low-level warrants without an arrest, and take other measures to either reduce or eliminate jail time for a number of minor offenses.