ALLOW ELECTRICAL FEE FOR PRISONERS H.B. 5620 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 5620 (Substitute S-1 as reported) Sponsor: Representative James Ryan House Committee: Judiciary and Civil Rights Senate Committee: Judiciary
The bill would amend the prison code to allow the Department of Corrections (DOC) to charge an electrical usage fee to all prisoners who used, in their personal housing area, any personal property item that required the use of electricity. A fee charged under the bill would have to be at a rate equivalent to $3 per month, regardless of the number of days of electrical usage, and be collected from the prisoner’s institutional account annually or at other intervals as determined by the DOC. The DOC would have to retain not more than 15% of the total fees collected annually under the bill to pay for the cost of operation. The DOC could exempt from the bill’s requirements personal property that was necessary for health or safety reasons, including, but not limited to, medical devices that required the use of electricity.
Proposed MCL 800.43 Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
The bill could increase revenue for State government. Revenue collections would depend on whether the Department chose to charge and collect a fee for electricity usage and on the number of prisoners willing to pay for continued use of electricity for their personal property items. There are no data currently available on the number of prisoners who have personal property items that require the use of electricity. If one assumes that the Department would charge a fee, and that half of the current 40,000 prisoners would choose to use personal electrical items and pay the $3 per month electric fee, annual revenue could approach $720,000, of which the Department could retain 15%, or in this example, $108,000.
Date Completed: 12-9-96 Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.