Supporters of domestic violence survivors are pressing Michigan lawmakers to get rid of fees for serving restraining orders.
In Michigan, law enforcement agencies can charge fees for serving a personal protection order. It’s one of fewer than 10 states where petitioners may have to pay for PPO service.
Some nonprofits and sheriff’s offices, like in Genesee County, have systems to help petitioners serve their PPOs for free. But it’s not uniform.
“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,” Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said during a press conference Wednesday.
Advocates say the costs of serving a personal protective order could vary greatly depending on county where it’s issued, where the recipient is, and the process a petitioner uses to serve it.
Aita Wellington is a legal representative with the YWCA of Kalamazoo County. She said those fees can stack up.
“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,” Wellington said.
Although PPOs take effect as soon as a judge signs them, police can’t enforce them until they’ve been served.
That became an issue last year when the ex-husband of Henry Ford Hospital employee Latricia Brown allegedly murdered her at work in Detroit. A PPO had been approved for Brown, but it hadn’t been served.
Legislation to change the system seems to be moving forward in the Michigan Legislature.
Both the state Senate and House of Representatives have voted to create a new state fund that would handle the costs of service for petitioners.
State Representative Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) co-sponsored the House package. Lightner said she’s cautiously optimistic votes can happen once both chambers get final bill language.
“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 passed its version of the bipartisan bill package in December. The House passed mirror bills last week.
The advocates worry time is running out before the end of the term to get everything finalized.
Ryan Bates, a strategist working with the group End Gun Violence Michigan, said he credits constant pressure on lawmakers with getting the bills this far.
“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 said.
Both chambers are only scheduled to meet a few more times before the November 3 general election. After that, any major legislative action could depend on the results of that election.
