In a bid to alleviate the financial burden on domestic violence victims, advocates in Michigan are pushing for legislative changes to eliminate fees associated with serving restraining orders.
Currently, Michigan is among a handful of states where individuals seeking a personal protection order (PPO) might incur costs for service by law enforcement agencies.
While nonprofits and certain sheriff’s offices, such as Genesee County’s, offer assistance to ensure free service of PPOs, this is not standardized across the state.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson highlighted the inconsistency, stating, “In this county, I went right to the circuit court, I went to the circuit court administrator and said, ‘This is not law, this is an action that only I can, as the sheriff, control.’ We’ve got 27 other police departments in Genesee County. I can’t control what they do. That’s why we need this precedent.”
The costs associated with serving a PPO can vary significantly based on the location of the petitioner and the recipient, as well as the method of service. Aita Wellington, representing the YWCA of Kalamazoo County, noted that fees could escalate, especially if the perpetrator relocates to another county.
“It could go hundreds of dollars if we have a perpetrator who committed the offense in Kalamazoo County but then they fled to Wayne County, and we have to pay mileage, we have to pay time that they have on the road,” said Wellington.
PPOs are effective immediately once signed by a judge, but enforcement by police is contingent upon the order being served. This issue came to light last year when Latricia Brown, a Detroit hospital worker, was tragically killed by her ex-husband despite having an approved, yet unserved, PPO.
Michigan lawmakers are making progress on legislation to address this issue. Both the state Senate and House of Representatives have endorsed the creation of a state fund to cover PPO service costs.
Co-sponsor State Representative Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) expressed cautious optimism about legislative votes proceeding once the final details are confirmed. “Time is of the essence in a lot of these cases, and you can’t let a couple hundred bucks be worth letting someone die. You know what I mean? We need to protect them, we need to have their back, and we’ll do what we can to protect you,” Lightner said.
The Senate approved its version of the bill package in December, with the House following suit with similar bills recently.
Advocates are concerned about the limited time available to finalize these measures before the legislative term ends. Ryan Bates, a strategist with End Gun Violence Michigan, attributed the bills’ progress to persistent advocacy efforts.
“It seems like when there’s an issue that a moneyed interest group needs to get taken care of, that can go to the top of the agenda. But when it’s domestic violence survivors, or other folks who are marginalized or vulnerable who need something, they’re at the bottom of the list,” Bates remarked.
With only a few legislative sessions left before the November 3 election, the outcome of these efforts may depend significantly on the election results.
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