Ottawa County Sheriff - Ottawa County Deputy Sheriff Association

LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS & MEMBERSHIP ADVOCACY

The demands on the law enforcement community continue to grow while chronic state and local budget deficits continue to reduce our resources.  DSAM knows the process, knows how to open doors, and most importantly knows how to get results.  Here is a comprehensive list of our past achievements:

1)            Crafted, introduced, and successfully passed Public Act 416, Secondary Road Patrol Grant Statute, into law.

2)            Increased state funding for Public Act 416, the Secondary Road Patrol fund from $5.00 to $10.00 per moving violation.

3)            Lobbied to make the act of assaulting a corrections officer a four-year felony.

4)            Lobbied to make the act of disarming a peace/correction officer a ten-year felony, and mandated a four-year felony for taking a weapon other than a firearm.

5)            Exempted law enforcement officers from certain provisions of the concealed weapon act.

6)            Prevented the privatization of county jails in 1988 (Senate Bills 683-688).

7)            Mandated infectious disease vaccinations (hepatitis B) and training for law enforcement and corrections officers. 

8)            Mandated full-cost recovery for Michigan State Police officers serving private sector events, and overtime pay for enhanced patrols (township contracts), including benefits, insurance, and uniform/equipment costs. 

9)            Passed law (Public Act 28 1999) that mandated felony charge for delivery of a controlled substance into a county jail. 

10)        Lobbied for legislation to pay full college tuition for children of law enforcement and correction officers slain in the line of duty.

11)        Lobbied to amend the Fireman's Rule to allow law enforcement officers to sue property owners, in certain instances, when injured on private property.

12)        Amended the Personal Protection Orders (PPO) statute to require disclosure of identity of a police officer, deputy sheriff, or a correction officer that must carry a weapon for performance of duties.  Also mandated a hearing within five days of PPO motion, or motion must be recanted or modified.

13)        Mandated a felony charge for persons convicted of certain violent crimes to own, possess, use or sell body armor of Kevlar helmets.

14)        Lobbied to make four degrees of fleeing and eluding a felony.

15)        Lobbied for mandated state certification for local correction officers and continued education/training (Public Act 124 & 125).

16)        Lobbied to legalize the use of TASERs for road patrol and corrections officers.

17)        Lobbied to make the use of police scanners in the commission of a crime, or possession by persons convicted of certain crimes, a felony.

18)        Successfully lobbied (Garrity Legislation) to prevent the news media from gaining access to officer statements given under the "Garrity Warning" during an internal affairs investigation, including local corrections officers and emergency dispatchers.