SB 861 — Prisoner Productivity Time Credit System (Adds MCL 800.33a)
Status & Key Dates
- Introduced: March 13, 2025 (Sen. Jeff Irwin sponsor).
- Companion / related bills: SB 862–864 (address victim notice, parole timing, and related Code changes); SB 864 is tie‑barred to SB 861.
- Effective date (as enacted): January 1, 2026. (Bill ultimately enacted — approved by Governor Oct 10, 2025; Chapter 592, Statutes of 2025.)
Purpose / Intent
- Establish a statutory “productivity credits” program under the Michigan Corrections Code allowing certain prisoners to earn time credits for engagement and completion of education, vocational, and MDOC‑approved rehabilitative programs. Accumulated credits are deducted from a prisoner’s minimum and maximum term to calculate parole eligibility and discharge dates, creating incentives for participation in programming aimed at reducing recidivism and improving reentry outcomes.
Who is affected
- Eligible: Prisoners who are “subject to disciplinary time” and sentenced on or after the bill’s effective date (i.e., new sentences after enactment), serving indeterminate terms.
- Ineligible: prisoners sentenced to life without parole; those convicted of specified offenses (including first‑ or second‑degree murder, certain human‑trafficking offenses, certain enumerated violent offenses, and offenses that are listed under the Sex Offenders Registration Act); prisoners assigned to high security housing (security classification V or VI); prisoners scoring “very high risk” on the most recent validated risk and needs assessment. Credits cannot be applied to commuted sentences unless the commutation order specifies them.
Key provisions — how credits are earned and limited
- Monthly enrollment credits:
- 20 days per month for maintained enrollment in programs recommended by MDOC or educational/vocational programs.
- For MDOC‑approved voluntary programs, MDOC may assign 10, 15, or 20 days per month.
- A prisoner may not earn enrollment credit during any month in which the prisoner is found guilty of a “major misconduct”; lost credits are limited to what would have been earned that month.
- Aggregate cap for enrollment credits: 100 days.
- Completion credits:
- 90 days for successful completion of a recommended/educational/vocational program that does not yield a diploma/degree.
- 120 days for earning a high school diploma, high school equivalency (GED), or higher education degree.
- Up to 90 days for completion of an MDOC‑approved voluntary program (amount set by MDOC).
- Aggregate / statutory caps:
- MDOC may not award productivity credits exceeding 20% of the prisoner’s minimum sentence.
- Enrollment credit is capped at 100 aggregate days (as above).
- Sentencing computations:
- For concurrent sentences, credits are computed using the longest concurrent term; for consecutive sentences, credits are computed and applied individually to each sentence.
- Rulemaking: MDOC must promulgate rules (via APA) establishing minimum standards and procedures for earning and awarding credits.
Other provisions
- Disciplinary interaction: credits are forfeitable under misconduct rules (no credit for months with major misconduct). Accumulated disciplinary time continues to be reported to the parole board per existing practice.
- Victim notice and parole code adjustments: SB 862 requires prosecutors to notify victims (on request) whether defendants may be eligible to earn credits; SB 863/864 contain conforming adjustments to parole and sentencing rules (tie‑bar and related statutory cross‑references).
Projected fiscal / policy impact (from legislative analyses)
- Estimated fiscal effect: indeterminate but likely positive (state savings from reduced prisonhouse days). Legislative staff estimated potential average savings of roughly $35,000 per eligible prisoner under maximal participation assumptions (based on a 20% cap and average sentence lengths), but actual savings depend on program participation and award levels. Savings would be realized over several years given sentence lengths.
Practical effect
- Creates a formal, capped incentives framework to encourage prisoner engagement in education and reentry programming; gives MDOC discretion to expand approved programs based on evidence; sets statutory limits to balance public safety and reduction of time served.
