The Michigan Senate voted Tuesday to update the state’s sex offender registry laws to comply with a recent federal court ruling.
The decision blocked increased reporting requirements for people convicted before new, tougher laws took effect. The court also declared unconstitutional a provision that allowed the state police to decide if an out-of-state crime warranted reporting.
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said that part created a loophole for out-of-state offenders.
“There are folks that, if we do not pass this legislation, could have chosen to move to Michigan if they were convicted in a different state. And this would have provided basically safe harbor with no recognition for folks in our communities who have been convicted of some pretty heinous sexual crimes,” Brinks told reporters after Senate session Tuesday.
The bill passed Tuesday would exempt offenders convicted before 2011 from tougher requirements that had passed after their convictions. It would use judges, instead of state police, to determine whether someone convicted of an out-of-state sex crime needs to register.
According to Senate Democrats, there’s a July 21 deadline for the state to either update its registry law or remove thousands of names from the list.
Brinks said it was important for the Senate to move the legislation, which only passed thanks to bipartisan support, on Tuesday to meet that deadline. Four Democrats voted against the bill.
The matter has been in near-constant litigation in some manner for years. Brinks conceded the issue could still come up again.
“I’m not 100% sure that this will settle it. But I think that we’ve done our part today to make sure that we are in compliance with this most recent court case,” Brinks said.
While talking with reporters, Brinks also gave an update on her tense relationship with House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp). She said the two will be meeting Wednesday after she had struggled to get him to schedule a formal sit-down.
Brinks said she hopes the talks will center around the state’s next budget.
“I’m very eager to make progress there and it’s high time that we have those conversations. Very pleased that he has finally accepted the opportunity to meet and very hopeful that these will be productive conversations,” Brinks said.
There are fewer than two weeks left until a July 1 statutory deadline for passing a new state budget.
Brinks said she has had productive conversations with Hall in times when they have spoken, including recently with the governor. But she accused him of largely ignoring or denying her requests.
In a phone interview Tuesday evening, Hall denied that he’s been inaccessible.
Hall said he and Brinks speak frequently over the phone. And he said he wants in-person meetings to be worth his time. He also brought up transparency.
“They want to talk in secret all the time. They want to always negotiate in secret. I prefer to have the conversations more out in public so people know what we’re talking about,” Hall said.
Conflict between the two is nothing new. Earlier this year, the Senate, under Brinks’ leadership, sued the House over a handful of bills from the prior legislative session that hadn’t been delivered to the governor.
Meanwhile, Hall has accused Democrats of having a “negative governing philosophy.” That’s especially after a hallmark Republican-led road funding plan stalled in the Senate.
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