MI - Legislation would force sex offenders to pay to be on registry (Poll available)

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And to reiterate what eAdvocate said "A registry which merely shows where registrant's are for a few hours of the night when they are sleeping does nothing to protect the public. Politicians want the registry to further political goals!"

10/24/2013

LANSING (WNEM) - Legislation passed by the Michigan Senate in Lansing would require registered sex offenders to pay an annual fee to help maintain the state's sex offender registry.

Senate Bill 221's sponsor, state Sen. Rick Jones, said it is ready for the governor's signature.

"These are people who committed crimes," said Jones, R-Grand Ledge. "I do not believe that the hardworking taxpayers in Michigan should foot the bill for a registry of crimes they did not commit."
- So when are you going to force all other ex-felons to pay an extortion fee?

In a news release on Thursday, Jones cited other states such as Indiana, which charges $50 per year for a similar registry, and Illinois and Ohio, which charge $100 per year.
- Just because another state gets away with extortion doesn't mean you should follow them!

Currently, Jones stated the cost of maintaining the Sex Offender Registry database in Michigan is funded through a one-time $50 registration fee for offenders, even though the majority of offenders register for 25 years to life.

Jones stated in the release that during the past five years, the money collected from this one-time fee is less than 10 percent of the cost of maintaining the registry. Jones noted that as a result, law enforcement must divert taxpayer dollars that should be spent on putting more police officers on the streets.
- Well the tax payers are the ones who want this online hit-list so they should pay for it!

"Sex offenders can afford to pay a dollar or two per week to pay for the list," Jones said. "Taxpayers should not have to be burdened with this cost. The offenders should support this list as they do in neighboring states."
- We should also not have to pay taxes on a lot of other things, but I don't see you eliminating those taxes!