Today, I am proud to present to you, with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, a package that will give our children a chance. I appreciate, Mr. President, the support of the entire Senate today.
Senator Santana’s statement is as follows:
I rise in support of the “raise the age” bill package—Senate Bill Nos. 84 and 90 through 102.
Over the past 30 years, we have had many 17-year-olds whose lives have been forever changed because they were treated as adults in the criminal justice system. We now know what past legislators did not know—that getting “tough on crime” only resulted in more crime, having juveniles sexually assaulted in the prison and treated as prey by adults with no true opportunity for real reform.
We are turning the tide today and for this we can all be grateful. This legislation is long overdue but still timely, and let us not delay any longer. Compromise is inevitable, especially when there is a monetary cost that must be considered. But let us not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
I want to thank all my colleagues who started this journey five and a half years ago and those who are continuing to carry the baton to the finish line, to all the advocacy groups who stayed in the conversations and helped right this wrong, and to all the local governments who know that this is simply the right thing to do.
Our quality of life and our future generations’ quality of life is dependent on every decision we make in this chamber, and when this legislation passes and is signed into law, we can all be proud not to be one of the last three states that allow mistakes at 17 years old become a lifetime of wrongdoing.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 90, entitled
A bill to amend 1939 PA 288, entitled “Probate code of 1939,” by amending sections 1, 3, and 11 of chapter XIIA (MCL 712A.1, 712A.3, and 712A.11), section 1 as amended by 2016 PA 496, section 3 as amended by 1996 PA 409, and section 11 as amended by 2016 PA 185.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: