2023 Senate Bill 493

Legislature: legislative agencies; office of legislative corrections ombudsman; expand powers and duties and rename to office of legislative corrections ombudsperson.

A bill to amend 1975 PA 46, entitled “An act to create the office of the legislative corrections ombudsman; to prescribe the powers and duties of the office, the ombudsman, the legislative council, and the department of corrections; and to provide remedies from administrative acts,” by amending the title and sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 (MCL 4.351, 4.352, 4.354, 4.355, 4.356, 4.357, 4.358, 4.359, 4.360, 4.361, 4.362, 4.363, and 4.364), sections 1, 6, 7, and 10 as amended by 1998 PA 318, sections 4, 5, 8, 9, and 13 as amended by 2018 PA 571, section 11 as amended by 1995 PA 197, and section 12 as amended by 1982 PA 170.

Senate Fiscal Agency Analysis

The bill would amend Public Act 46 of 1975, which established the Office of the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman, to do the following: -- Rename the Office of the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman and Legislative Corrections Ombudsman to the Office of the Legislative Corrections Ombudsperson and Ombudsperson (LCO), respectively. -- Expand the list of individuals allowed to make a complaint to the LCO to include a family member or prisoner advocate and afford these individuals certain protections afforded to current complainants under the Act. -- Require the LCO to create a standardized complaint form and make that form available. -- Allow the LCO to consult or contract with qualified experts for assistance with the work of the Office of the LCO. -- Require the LCO to provide a correctional facility with a 72-hour notice prior to taking an expert into a facility and require the LCO to provide the facility with specific information about the expert. -- Prescribe specific timelines regarding the release of a recommendation by the LCO that criticized a person or the MDOC and the notification by the MDOC of any action taken on those recommendations. -- Require the annual report on the conduct of the LCO to be made available on the Office of the LCO's website. -- Require the annual report to contain certain information regarding complaints and investigations of those complaints, among other things. -- Require the LCO to make monthly reports concerning complaint information available on the LCO's website.

Introduced in the Senate

Sept. 13, 2023

Introduced by Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-2) and eight co-sponsors

Co-sponsored by Sens. Mallory McMorrow (D-8), Jeff Irwin (D-15), Paul Wojno (D-10), Dayna Polehanki (D-5), Erika Geiss (D-1), Rosemary Bayer (D-13), Stephanie Chang (D-3) and Ed McBroom (R-38)

Referred to the Committee on Oversight

Oct. 25, 2023

Reported with substitute S-1

Oct. 26, 2023

Referred to the Committee of the Whole

Nov. 8, 2023

Reported with substitute S-1

Substitute S-1 concurred in by voice vote

Nov. 9, 2023

Passed in the Senate 37 to 0 (details)

Received in the House

Nov. 9, 2023

Referred to the Committee on Government Operations