Senator John Proos (R – Saint Joseph) is spearheading an 18-bill package of criminal justice reforms.
The multi-bill “Proos package” was introduced on May 3 and referred to the Senate Committee on Michigan Competitiveness, chaired by Senator Mike Shirkey (R-Jackson). The Senate voted the entire package out by broad majorities in June 2016. The bills are now pending in the House Criminal Justice Committee, where action on some or all is expected this Fall.
Levine testified at each of the three Senate Committee on Michigan Competitiveness hearings on the package:
SB 933, 934, 935, 948, 949 written testimony
Barbara Levine, CAPPS associate director for research and policy, and Noah Smith, CAPPS’s lobbyist, are continuing to meet with legislators to discuss CAPPS’s analysis of the bills and recommendations for amendments.
One of Senator Proos’s key concerns is the rate that people under supervision end up in prison. CAPPS is currently conducting research on parole technical violators and will be releasing findings later this year.