Senate Bill Referred to House Committee
Back in June of 2015, we told you about a senate bill that had been introduced by Senator Rick Jones, which proposed to modify the penalties surrounding minor in possession laws in Michigan. But while the wheels of the law grind slowly indeed, that bill finally passed the Michigan Senate, and has now been referred to the House of Representatives Criminal Justice committee.
The bill, which passed the Senate on a vote of 36 – 2, would change the first minor in possession infraction from a punishable crime to a civil infraction. This means that anyone under the age of 21 caught with alcohol would be faced with a $100 fine, instead of a potential 90 day jail sentence and a $500 fine. Which probably sounds much less scary to just about every underaged college student out there.
But that right there, according to Senators Tonya Schuitmaker and Mike Green, is the reason this is such a bad idea. Schuitmaker and Green were the two opposing votes in the Senate, and for both of them, they voted no because they were concerned about the implications of minimizing minor in possession laws. Not least of which is the fact that Schuitmaker thinks this could actually encourage underaged drinking.
But Jones disagrees. He says he didn’t propose this legislation because he is being soft on underaged drinking. Instead, he feels that changing minor in possession from a crime to a civil infraction, he is doing both the courts and the youth of Michigan a huge favor. And we have to agree.
Statistics provided by the Michigan State Police reveal that between 2009 and 2013 in Michigan, there were 38,499 people cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol. This is no more obvious than in college towns, where the concentrated number of minor in possession offenses increases dramatically.
However, Jones points out that with that many MIP cases moving through the criminal justice system, the courts are getting bogged down. By eliminating the need to prosecute minors for alcohol possession, it will free up thousands of hours spent by judges and prosecutors, that could otherwise be dedicated to more important issues.
Additionally, giving a young person a criminal record that will follow them for the rest of their life, affecting their ability to get a good job and become a contributing member of society, isn’t doing anyone any favors. Because “criminalizing someone for having a beer”, as Jones puts it, is just outrageous. And we couldn’t agree more.