Hello Colleagues,
HB5679 to change Michigan’s SORA is on the agenda for the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Dec. 1st. This bill still does not include changes to remove adjudicated youth from the registry; not even the changes to correct the over-inclusion of juvenile offenses that exceeds the federal requirement which was done erroneously in 2011!! Legislators have promised to fix this, but it’s been 9 years now that adjudicated youth have had to register in Michigan for offenses that the Adam Walsh Act/SORNA doesn’t even require youth to register for. There was a bill in 2016 about to be introduced to do this, but that was the same year that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding SORA came down and they decided to do it when the legislature makes changes for the court ruling. They are working passing changes for the court ruling now–but yet there’s no change to the bill to correct the fact that we exceed the federal requirement for juveniles. We need to hold legislators accountable to, at minimum, make the change to not exceed the federal requirement for juvenile registration.
Please call and send emails urging members of the judiciary to remove adjudicated youth from the registry, and at minimum, make the change to not exceed the federal requirement for juvenile offenses requiring registration (See Part 1 in the Juvenile Changes document attached below). Focus on the HOUSE Judiciary and Leadership at this time (the list is attached to the email below).
Amongst other issues with HB5679, I urge you to contact the legislators below and advocate that:
- Adjudicated juvenile offenders be removed from the registry as already drafted in the (H-3) substitution to HB5679 (which has not been included in the HB5679 (H-2) Draft 4, AND
- At minimum legislators should include Part 1 of these proposed juvenile changes, which is the language that corrects the list of offenses for which adjudicated juveniles must register, so Michigan does not exceed the federal requirement for juvenile offenders. The bill language for this change is attached. The Adam Walsh Act only requires juveniles committing offenses involving penetration, use of force, threat of violence, rendering unconscious, or drugging to register.
Special note, Rep. Kahle has drafted the substitution to HB5679 (H-3, draft 2) to remove juveniles (there are 3 sections to that change), but Rep. Lower, bill sponsor of HB5679, has not added these changes to the version of HB5679 the committee is taking up Dec. 1st.
Thank you so much. We don’t anticipate testimony at the hearing–they likely will attempt to vote the bill out of committee. This is why you need to send your written testimony at minimum, and make calls to not support the bill without this change. Please also send your testimony to Melissa Sweet, Judiciary Committee Clerk, msweet@house.mi.gov, 517-373-5176.
Sharon Denniston, Ph.D.
Juvenile Advocate & Policy Consultant
Illumine Research, Analysis, and Consulting, LLC
248-933-3982