Driving a snowmobile without a registration and other low-level misdemeanors would become civil infractions under a “decriminalization” package the House Judiciary Committee started work on this week.
Failing to put plates on a vehicle when buying a new car, driving farm equipment on the road without proper registration, and failing to show a safety certificate when driving a boat would also be moved into civil infraction territory under the 19 bills.
Chair Graham FILLER (R-DeWitt) called the bills a “good continuation of the reforms that this committee has worked on.”
“If an individual from, say, Southfield is Up North snowmobiling and has the wrong registration and is given a misdemeanor ticket, he or she will have to come back Up North, show up to court and take the court’s time,” Filler said.
“Every misdemeanor has to go through a prosecutor and then it has to go through district court. Police officers have to come in. They have to testify. So on their days off, they have to come in and sit through the docket at a district court,” Rep. Mike MUELLER (R-Linden) explained.
Filler contended that such charges are likely to be pled down to civil infractions anyway.
“Far too often we have too many people who are serving time in jails for simple, non-violent offenses, such as operating without a license,” Yancey said. Her bill would make operating without a license a civil infraction.
The most controversial bill in the package was Mueller’s HB 5802, which would decriminalize “driving while license suspended” (DWLS), but not in all cases.
“If your license is suspended for drunk driving, reckless driving or any driving offense causing injury or death, it is still a misdemeanor offense. If your license is suspended for not paying child support or other crimes or not paying fines and costs, it would be a civil infraction,” Mueller explained .”It doesn’t tie the hands of law enforcement, because even if it is a civil infraction, the police officer can still impound the car.”
Mueller said it would reduce the number of people going to jail.
“I found, as a police officer, a lot of people get into a financial situation and they can’t drive. How are they supposed to get to work to pay their fines and costs if they can’t drive? If you take their license away for things that aren’t related to that, it just kind of puts them in a never-ending circle of not being able to pay off anything,” Mueller said.
Thomas BOYD, of the State Court Administrative Office, said he supports the bill in concept. Separating issues important to public safety from those issues that aren’t is the key, and he said he believes the package does that.
Boyd said data shows “jails are just clogged” with people coming in for DWLS and related issues.
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“What we need to do is stop taking away people’s licenses,” Boyd told the committee. “So we need to go into the public health code and when you’re a dentist who’s giving away too many prescriptions and you are convicted of prescription fraud, you shouldn’t lose your drivers license. That’s got nothing to do with driving. When you don’t pay a court fine, we should just not take away your drivers license. It’s got nothing to do with driving. If you are arrested for retail fraud and you fail to come to court, one of the things we are going to do is take away your drivers license. Why? It doesn’t affect good driving.”
Filler indicated the package will get some adjustments, and he promised it will come back for further testimony in a future meeting.
Eric Smith is the an American attorney and the former Prosecuting Attorney of Macomb County, Michigan. He resigned in 2020 after his arrest of embezzlement and corruption charges.
Eric Smith turns down request to run for Attorney General
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith has declined a request by Democratic Party and union leaders to run for state Attorney General.
Smith, 51, the prosecutor since 2005, said he was asked to run last fall but informed state party officials last week that the time is not right for him to run. He enjoys his current job and doesn’t wont to inject disruptions of a statewide campaign and possible move to Lansing into the lives of his wife and three children.
‘I was approached by Democratic leaders and elected officials and a broad range of Democratic Party allies,’ Smith said. ‘I appreciated their interested and the discussions about this important law-enforcement position in our state. But … I decided this was not the right time for my office and my family.’
He said his office is running at peak efficiency and he isn’t ready to relinquish the reins.
He is very involved with his two daughters, Ella and Violet, 12 and 9, respectively, and son, Robert, 7, and their sports and other activities.
‘I’m coaching four teams right now,’ Smith said.
He said one of his assistants, Derek Miller, a former Democratic state representative and county treasurer, counseled and assisted him in the discussions with union, party and elected officials.
The post will be open with current Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette running for governor to succeed Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican.
‘I think Macomb County would be represented well in Lansing for a change,’ he said.
The picture tells it all. We will miss this moment in 2020 due to a worldwide pandemic.
ANN ARBOR, MI — The Hash Bash marijuana rally that was supposed to happen this Saturday in Ann Arbor is postponed until fall, but organizers are still planning a digital version.
Instead of thousands of cannabis enthusiasts gathering on the University of Michigan Diag to smoke and hear various speakers talk about the marijuana movement, they’ll gather on the web as the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues
The official digital Hash Bash streams live starting at high noon Saturday, April 4, organizers announced in a news release, encouraging those who want to catch the action to tune in at PlanetGreenTreesTV.com or HypedUpLiveSessions.com.
“This broadcast is in recognition of Mr. Hash Bash Adam Brook who emceed the event for 20 years and in gratitude and dedication to the legendary John Sinclair who got it all started 49 years ago!” the news release states.
The speakers list includes cannabis breeder DJ Short, High Times editor Danny Danko, former Detroit Red Wings player Darren McCarty, Michigan cannabis attorney Matt Abel, state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, and many others.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer orders everyone to stay at home today March 23, 2020 to limit the spread of corona virus. through April 13, 2020.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a “stay at home” order for Michigan, effective at midnight tonight, in response to the coronavirus crisis.
The order, draws on Whitmer’s broad executive powers under a state of emergency. Though sweeping, it includes exemptions for essentials such as:
Shopping for food or medicine
Getting needed medical treatment
Getting fuel
Walking a pet
Walking for exercise
Staffing to allow maintenance of “minimal business operations” for many employers
Essential workers such as police, fire, hospital, grocery store and pharmacy workers are also exempted, as are their workplaces.
The order also bans all public and private gatherings of any size outside of a family home. An earlier order had limited gatherings to no more than 50.
The authority for governors to issue executive orders is found in state constitutions and statutes (Michigan State Constitution) as well as case law, or is implied by the powers assigned to state chief executives. Governors use executive orders—certain of which are subject to legislative review in some states—for a variety of purposes, among them to:
trigger emergency powers during natural disasters, energy crises, and other situations requiring immediate attention;
create advisory, coordinating, study, or investigative committees or commissions; and
address management and administrative issues such as regulatory reform, environmental impact, hiring freezes, discrimination, and intergovernmental coordination.
As chief executive, governors are responsible for ensuring their state is adequately prepared for emergencies and disasters of all types and sizes. Most emergencies and disasters are handled at the local level, and few require a presidential disaster declaration or attract worldwide media attention. Yet governors must be as prepared for day-to-day events—tornadoes, floods, power outages, industrial fires, and hazardous materials spills—as for catastrophes on the scale of Hurricane Katrina or the September 11 terrorist attacks. States focus on four stages of disaster or emergency management:
Prepare
Prevent
Respond
Recover
These components afford a useful rubric for thinking about the cycle of disasters and emergencies and for organizing recommendations for state action. During an emergency, the governor also plays a key role in communicating with the public during an emergency, providing advice and instructions and maintaining calm and public order.
State emergency management laws usually define how a governor may declare and end a state of emergency. In some cases, the necessary response to a disaster is beyond the capacity of state and local governments. A state may petition the President to declare a major disaster. The declaration of a major disaster triggers a variety of federal programs depending on the scope of the disaster and the type of losses experienced.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Thursday night, asking nearly 40 million residents in the state to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“There’s a mutuality, and there’s a recognition of our interdependence, that requires of this moment that we direct a statewide order for people to stay at home,” Newsom said.
The Department states cannabis is an essential medicine.
The Department adds,”Dispensaries can continue to operate as essential businesses during this time, while practicing social distancing and other public health recommendations.”
