Criminals to. pay for
viettm«: rights under
ballot. proposal 8
By yJ. H...�
Capillll News Service
LA SING - Michigan's law­
abiding residents will have a bit
more spending money after
taxes, but law offenders will
have to dig deeper into their
pockets if Proposal B passes
Nov. 8.
Voters' approval of Proposal
B uld allow the Legislature to
charge convicted, offenders to
pay various mailing and clerical
expenses tbe state incurs to .
p'ovide aime victims' rights. ,
This would give residents ap­
promately $3 million in tax
relief, said Rep. William Van
Regenmotter, R-Jenison.
-Punding' still coming right
&om the ordinary taxpayer out
of the general fund and logical­
ly e thi k (the expenses)
uld be funded by the con­
victed criminal, " he said
Van Regenmorter, the chair
of the Yictims' Rights Advisory
Board, said under the current
systems the state cannot charge
defendents to p y for providing
victims' rights.
Officials have examined aug­
menting penal fines or court
costs to fund crime victims'
rights, Van Regenmorterr said
But fines are earmarked soley
for library funding and it is im­
practical to calculate the direct
court costs, he added
Rough calculations project
the state wou Id assess mis­
demeanor defendants $5 and
felony defendants $10 to
provide nearly $3 million for the
funding of crime victims' rights,
he said.
The s te now spends $2 mil­
lion annually to provide aime
victims' rights, Van Regen­
morter said
Proposal B also would
amend the slate Co titution to
, provide:
- Fair treatment with
respect for their dignity nd
prMlCY�
- Reasonable protection
'from the accused . ,
- Notification of court
proceedings and to atte d trials.
- Make statements to the
court at sentencings,
- Restitution.
- rUDely disposition of the &lATE ED PRESIDENT VISIT -
case. Dr. d J. SIM�III
-. I.nf�rmation a�ut. the Dr. Oareace L
COIIYlcbo� sentence, ampnsoo­
ment and release of accused.
� Michigan's Constitution
there are a number of rights for
the aiminal defendant," Van
R.egenmorter said "But the vic-
tim 0 reaU� is the person President of state Board
moost impacted by the crime of Education, Mrs. Barbara
has abso utely no rights.
-Victims certainly deserve Roberts Mason, visited High-
noiess than the reoognition and land Park Community College
status that the constitution (HPCC) on. Wednesday, Oc-
provides," he said toberr 12, 1988.
The propo al woulad Dr. Comer Heath III, Presi-
b I th tituti dent of the college and his
a ance e cons rtutron, cabinet administrators ,*t with
providing justice for the victim Mason to share information
U as the attacker, said Van about the college's current
Regenmorter,.wbo also was in- programs, goals and vision for
strumental in passage of the the future from the college's
1985 Crime Victim's Rights Act. Strategic Plan.
Adding these rights to the I'
-constitution also would give Mason shar e d the
them greater permanence, Van administration' concenis
�egenmorter sai� As law these bout the shortage of funds to
rights �uld be chip� a�y by, ' Highland Park community CoI­
tb� whim of the Legislature, he lege as it serves "at risk popula-
said. tions." ,
But Rep. Lynn Jondahl, 0- Mason expressed en
Okemos, said it is unlikely that
the Legislature would weaken
the Crime Victim's Right Act
because of the almost unani­
mous support for its passage.
Jondahl, who was one of two
legislators to vote against put­
ting Proposal B on the state bal­
lot, said the co titution should
be a relatively lean and precise
document and should not have
entire statutes dded to it.
"I'm just concerned that we
have not tested the law to see if
it is doing what we want it to do,"
be said
I,
8yBd yA.T·
Capital News Service
Lansing - -Gov. James
Blanchard may be moving ou of
the Capital
However, this move won't be
to a Washington, D.C. address.
The offices of the governor,
or his successor, may be moved
3
visits HPCC.l
thusiasm a d support of the
college's new initiative involving
the training of welfare
recipients to become
entrepre eurs, She lso ex­
pressed concern abou the in­
creased high school dropout
rate amo minority ths:'
She indicate he the
Michigan Depart ent of
Education and the GOvernor
are concerned about the need to
increase e number of minority
students enrolling and <r>mplet­
ing post secondary education.
Since Highland Park Com­
munity CoUege serves a IJarg "at
ri k popu lation," Mason
pledged her support i finding
ways to increase funding to
provide the neededse ice for
this unique population.
Mrs. Mason was pleased to
hear that HPCC is working ac­
tively'with local high schoo to
increase the number of stude ts
pursuing post secondary edu -
lion and training.
Mason was excited about the
idea of international education
as endorsed by Michigan's
Community Colleges. She en­
couraged the College's Ad­
ministration to Pursue
programs and initiatives
directed toward the African
countries.
Mason was most impressed
with the college facility. Hikh­
land Park Community College
being a seventy (70) year old
structure, caused her to be ex­
pecially plea ed witb it ap­
pearance and upktzp.
. I
PROJECT
when h too office in 1983. The
proposed move would give the
executive offices more space.
The former hotel and office
building, 00 the corner of
Michigan and Capitol avenues,
was bought by the state in
January 1988 nd is in the plan­
ning stages of renovation.
"Eventually, if we ever get
started on it, it will be gutted and
then the outside redone," said
Eduard Markwart, director of
I design in the Department of
. Management and Budget
moment of broadcast coverage" BobSmith, project architect
to Dr. Fulani's historic cam- ' from Hobb and Black As-'
paign. sociated, Inc., the firm hired to
"If the CC condones the do the renovation said no pbysi­
failure of the major television cal work has been done.
networks to cover Lenor Senate majority leader John
I Fulani's residential Cam- Engler, R-Mt. Pleasant, con­
paign," argues attorney Arth firmed tbat plans for the e cu­
Black, "l988willgodowninb· - tive move had been seri usly
tory as the year that the discussed
Democratic and Republican - According to Markwart,
parties took over the Presiden- funding for the planned renova­
tial debates in coordination - if tion has been budgeted at
no in direct complicity - with $21.75 million, with $18.5 mil­
the nat onal net or ks lion coming from the State
prevented ens of millions of Building Authority and $3.25
voters &o� learning that there from the general fund 0 far,
were three ,oa�1 candidates only about $3 mimon from the
in the electmn. " stale's supplemental budget h
been ppropriated, he said.
across the strce to the recently
state- purch sed Old Plaza
buiJ�. Other government of­
fices would also occupy tbe
buil� .
The governor's offices were
first expanded and re deled
upon the governor's request
Fulan
. I'
iles FCC complain again
, I
netwo
Dr. Lenora Fulan� the in -
pendent candidate for Presi­
dent of the United States, has
filed a complaint with the
Federal Communications Com­
mission against the major
television ne orks.
Attorneys for Dr. Fulani -
the first woman and the first
African-American ever to be 00
the ballot in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia - dwge
that ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and
Fox, Inc. have violated the
Equal Opportuni ies require­
ments of the Communicatioos
Act of 1934 by broadcasting the
debates between George Bush
and ichael Dukakis bile
refusing to cover America's
third candidate. rogate" for the major parties to
The Communications Act produce a "joint campaign com-
stipulates that broadcaster mercial" for their candidates
must give all qualified can- and therefore should not ex- .
didates for the same office an empted,
equal opportunity to be heard Dr. Fulani was excluded
- by its audience. from the debate on the grounds
Whether debates should be that she could not demonstrate
exempted from the Equal O� a reasonable chance of winning­
portunities requirements be- the election. Her attorneys are
cause they fall in the category of therefore asking the FCC to
"bona fide ne events" has order the networks to give the
been a controversial . ue for ' A&ican-American independent
decades. 45 minutes of prime time
Fulani attorneys argue that coverage, equal to the time each
the bi-partisan Commission OD of the r 0 major party can ..
Presidential D ate which didates had in the debate.
sponsored the October 13 Four of the networks, as
debate in 1..0 Angele wa noted in Ithe complaint to the
functioning merely a "sur- FCC, have given -not a single