LANSING, Mich- A bill is making its way through Lansing that would require registered sex offenders to pay an annual fee to maintain the state’s registry.
According to a news release sent Thursday, Senate Bill 221, which is sponsored by Senator Rick Jones has passed the Michigan Senate and is awaiting Governor Snyder’s signature.
According to Jones, the current cost of maintaining Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry is paid for by a one-time $50 registration for offenders. However, with many of those people registering for 25 years to life, Jones says we’re missing out on some much needed funds.
During the past five years, he says that those one-time fees have only paid for about ten percent of the operating costs for the registry. Because of that gap in funding, Jones claims that money is being taken from services like additional police officers on the streets.
Right now, there are other states that require sex offenders to pay an annual fine, including Illinois and Ohio who charge $100 a year. So far, there’s no word on how much the fee would be here in Michigan.
