Thank you! I am good friends with our deputy treasurer for the county and my text to her was “Do we no longer arrest people in this county?? What happened to my penal fines?!” They simply didn’t collect them so there isn’t anything to disperse. I was kind of hoping that it was actually a diversion so I had someone somewhere to blame other than the judge who might try one of my cases someday. 😊 From: Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC@michigan.gov> Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 12:33 PM To: WCCL Amy Stockwell <amy@whitecloudlibrary.org>; michlib-l@mcls.org Cc: Hamlin, Joseph (MDE) <HamlinJ2@michigan.gov> Subject: RE: [Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut Hello Amy: Joe Hamlin, who manages the penal fine program for LM, is on vacation until the end of this week. I can tell you, however, that all of the information we receive from the County Treasurers regarding the amount of penal fines they distributed has not yet been fully received and analyzed. Penal fines can be affected by many factors including caseload, changes in the laws, local police enforcement, etc. Penal fines vary so drastically from county to county, the amounts other libraries received may not be of much help to you in why yours were less. It is unlikely a diversion (which actually rarely happens) but if you e-mail Joe at hamlinJ2@michigan.gov <mailto:hamlinJ2@michigan.gov> and let him know how much you received and your concerns, he can assist you. In addition, you should contact your county treasurer because they are the best source to explain how they arrived at the amount of money you received. I “cc’d” Joe on this e-mail and he will see it when he returns. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Clare Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D. Library Law Consultant Library of Michigan MembielaC@michigan.gov <mailto:MembielaC@michigan.gov> 517-335-8132 The research and resources above are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. “the State may not, consistently with the spirit of the First Amendment, contract the spectrum of available knowledge.” Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 482 (1965). Michigan’s <https://www.michigan.gov/mde/resources/michigan-top-10-strategic-education-plan> Top 10 Strategic Education Plan provides focused direction to drive educational achievement in support of all learners. Nourishing Michigan’s Future during the summer! Find a Summer Food Service Program site nearest you and encourage Michigan’s children to Meet Up and Eat Up! <http://www.michigan.gov/meetupeatup> Michigan.gov/MeetUpEatUp. <https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/> Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at <https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/> Michigan.gov/Vote. From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> > On Behalf Of WCCL Amy Stockwell via Michlib-l Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 12:20 PM To: michlib-l@mcls.org <mailto:michlib-l@mcls.org> Subject: [Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut CAUTION: This is an External email. Please send suspicious emails to <mailto:abuse@michigan.gov> abuse@michigan.gov Hello, I am just checking to see if other counties had a drastic cut to their penal fines this year? Our County just paid out and it was HALF what all of us had budgeted for the year, based on the past 10+ years. Was there a diversion of funds from Penal Fines that I didn’t catch or is my county just not issuing enough fines? 😊 Thanks!
