Posted on 05/05/2015 10:53:57 AM PDT by MichCapCon
There are laws in Michigan pertaining to reproaching someone for not accepting a duel, the playing of the national anthem and using indecent, immoral, obscene, vulgar, or insulting language in the presence of women and children. Now there’s a package of bills that would put some of these kinds of obsolete and largely unenforced statutes out to pasture.
“I believe it is time to identify and repeal unnecessary criminal statutes and burdens currently in state law that result in over-criminalization and over-penalization of Michigan citizens,” said Rep. Chris Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids, the sponsor of House Bill 4248, the lead bill of the package. “This bill is the initial result of a collaborative effort to bring commonsense reforms to Michigan’s penal code.”
House Bill 4250, sponsored by Rep. Rob VanHeulen, R-Walker, and House Bill 4251, sponsored by Rep. Andrea LaFontaine, R-Memphis, are the other bills in the package. House Bill 4250 would repeal an act that prohibits certain endurance contests such as walkathons. House Bill 4251 would repeal an act that prohibits the sale of dyed baby chicks, rabbits, or ducklings.
A study published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Manhattan Institute in 2014 found that Michigan has more than 3,100 laws on the books and has created an average of 45 new crimes in each of the last six years. Earlier this year a legislative work group in the House began tackling the issue and the three-bill package is the product of that work group.
The legislation is currently in the House Committee on Criminal Justice, which is chaired by Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth. According to Afendoulis, his bill has been improved while in the committee.
“I am encouraged that Rep. Heise and the committee adopted the substitute for the bill, which includes additional commonsense reforms brought forth in recent weeks by the work group,” Afendoulis said.
I’d like to see a FedGov effort to repeal obsolete and harmful laws. At best, they would identify 50 to 100 silly and archaic laws, pass slightly different repeal bills in the House and the Senate, and then slip Obamacare into the list for the reconciliation bill. Congresscritters are lazy and would never read and research the bill numbers to see what they were voting to repeal, not for a trivial administrative bill. Obama is a lazy moron and would sign it.
It’s a sneaky trick, just like the maneuvers used to pass Obamacare to begin with. I’d love to see it.
Too bad the 17th amendment cannot be added to the list.
Repealing the 17th would be good. Unfortunately, that will take a lot of work, not just a slick move when the liberal are not looking.
I would like to see a 10 year sunset put on ALL laws passed by Congress.
Every single law will have to be taken out, debated, reworked if necessary and voted on every 15 year.
No passing them in bulk.
It would do two things, it would keep the elected Representatives busy and out of mischief and it would insure that we didn't have a bunch of laws that are out of date that can used to harass people the local constabulary has taken in dislike.
Combine this with term limits and you would have new Representatives looking at the laws every single time and maybe prevent some of the poorly thought out laws we have now.
That’s an excellent idea. Any law, including tax laws, gun laws, environmental laws, and the rest of their nonsense that can’t be re-passed probably isn’t worth keeping.
It is illegal to grow dandelions in Pueblo, CO (wine) A little bit obsolete don’t you think?
I’d like to see a 10 year sunset on all members of Congress.... touché!
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