Whitmer signs bills offering more alternatives to jail time for traffic offenses, low-level crimes

January 6, 2021

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed bipartisan legislation aimed at providing more alternatives to jail time for offenses that don’t pose a public safety risk, among other reforms to the state’s criminal justice system.

Many of the bills signed Monday stemmed from a yearlong study into Michigan’s jail system led by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and other members of a bipartisan task force. The task force ultimately found the state’s overcrowded jails are filled with people who are either there too long or would be better served by an alternative to jail.