Legislative Update — Bill Did Not Become Law
This piece was written December 17, 2024 — the same day the Michigan Senate passed the Safer Michigan Act package. The bills were sent to the House, which adjourned abruptly on December 19, 2024 amid partisan disputes, killing the Safer Michigan Act along with HB 4630 and hundreds of other bills in the lame-duck session. Michigan remains one of the few states with no mechanism for earned sentence reduction. Follow
Sen. Irwin’s office and
Alliance for Safety and Justice Michigan for any reintroduction in the 2025-2026 session.
SB 861–864
Safer Michigan Act — Productivity Credits Package
Bipartisan package led by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp.). Passed the Michigan Senate December 17, 2024. Died in the House lame-duck session.
Credits capped at 2 years or 20% of sentence, whichever is less
Future sentences only — not retroactive
Earned through educational, vocational, and MDOC-approved programs
Parole board retains final release authority regardless
Not eligible: murder, registerable sex offenses, human trafficking
Victim notification required at sentencing for eligible cases
Fiscal analysis estimated savings of approximately $35,000 per eligible prisoner at maximum participation. If 1,500–2,200 beds were reduced, the state could save an estimated $70–84 million annually.
Why Michigan Has No Good Time — The 1998 Truth in Sentencing Law
Since 1998, Michigan has been one of two states that provide
no ability to earn time off a sentence — not disciplinary credits, not productivity credits, and definitely no “good time.” That year’s Truth in Sentencing law required all prisoners to serve their entire minimum sentence before parole eligibility. A 1978 voter-approved ballot initiative had already severely cut sentence-shortening programs — and
one House bill in the package would require a three-fourths supermajority vote because it amends that voter-initiated law. Michigan is an incarceration-advocate heaven.
$2.1B
Michigan spends $2.1 billion per year to house approximately 32,000 incarcerated persons — including those who are non-violent or who have aged out of crime entirely. Even with significant MDOC staffing shortages, the state has shown no urgency to change course.
What 32,000 Actually Means
Attorney General Dana Nessel and Governor Gretchen Whitmer — both former Prosecutors — are not truly champions of prison reform, expressing distaste for Good Time Credit bills in the past. Both are perfectly happy with the state spending $2.1 billion per year to house 32,000 incarcerated persons, even those who are non-violent or who have aged out of crime entirely.
The Real Count — Rita’s 32,000
Even if that person has just ONE family member helping them, that’s a minimum of 32,000 victims of collateral consequences.
32,000 people paying for the outrageous phone and video visit costs they allow to slowly bankrupt families.
32,000 people paying for garbage commissary food so their loved ones don’t waste away because the state won’t properly feed them.
32,000 people playing “Mother Heidi Washington May I?” to see their loved ones who have essentially been taken hostage by the state.
32,000 households with one less parent, or no parent at all.
32,000 households traumatized by their unending cycles of mass incarceration.
64,000 people who will tell you that Prison DOES NOT WORK. It’s a political shell game where the people stuck in the system pay the price.
Rita’s Analysis
Clearly, data and reform are not important to them; they’re politicians, not academics. It’s going to take voters respectfully speaking up to get them to listen to evidence-based reason instead of their politically-motivated baser instincts.
Make Your Voice Heard
I am uncertain how this will move forward. However, I encourage families to write your lawmakers and urge their support for any reintroduction of Productivity Credits legislation in the new session.
Find your Michigan Senator and Representative here: michiganvotes.org/legislators ?
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Related Coverage — Michigan Sentencing, Incarceration Costs, and the Evidence for Reform
How to cite: Williams, R. [Rita]. (2024, December 17). Proposed Safer Michigan Act Provides Path to Early Release. Clutch Justice. https://clutchjustice.com/2024/12/17/proposed-safer-michigan-act-provides-path-to-early-release/
