Safe & Just Michigan supports habitual sentencing reform

Senate Bill 895 was introduced into the Michigan Legislature on April 14. This bill is a technical fix that solves a persistent problem in Michigan's habitual offender enhancement laws. The habitual offender enhancement laws outline escalating penalties for individuals with prior felony convictions.

At issue is how prior convictions are to be counted for habitualization. The current text of the law is interpreted so that when multiple felonies arise from a single criminal incident, each conviction counts toward habitualization. This was not the intent of the law when it was first enacted. At that time, the Legislature intended that multiple convictions arising from one criminal incident be counted as one conviction for the purposes of habitualization.

SB 875, sponsored by state Sen. Sue Shink (D-Northfield Township) and co-sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), resolves the dispute over the law's interpretation by clarifying legislative intent. The bill also introduces a 10-year look-back period for habitual sentencing.

Safe & Just Michigan supports SB 875. These two changes will bring Michigan’s habitual sentencing standards in line with legislative intent while reflecting the common-sense observation that there is a difference between an individual who receives three felonies arising from one event and a person who commits three offenses.

The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee for deliberation. We anticipate a hearing on this bill in the coming months, and we will keep you posted.

To learn more, visit us at www.safeandjustmi.org. If you would like to join our efforts, email us at info@safeandjustmi.org or sign up for our newsletter at bit.ly/sjmsignup.

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