LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan has around 45,000 registered sex offenders, but as it stands, there are few restrictions on where they can work.
That includes businesses like child care facilities, summer camps, tutors and sports clubs, which primarily deal with children.
The businesses are allowed to hire whomever they want, even if they're on the sex offender registry.
State Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar) became aware of the issue when a constituent told him their child attended a martial arts class owned by a sex offender.
"These bills shore up gaps in law that leave parents in the dark," Bierlein said. "You could have a situation where parents drop their kids off somewhere and they would have no idea that a registered sex offender was on staff or volunteering there. These bills take away that potential, provide transparency, and make this cut and dry within law."
They would prohibit any business that caters to those under the age of 18 from hiring sex offenders.
Those on the registry that violate the law could face a year in prison and/or a fine up to $1,000.
Multiple violation could put offenders away for up to four years with a $2,000 fine.
Michigan's sex offender registry is one of the strictest in the nation, recently ranking fourth in the nation for number of offenders per capita; 440 per 100,000 people.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan opposes Bierlein's bills, maintaining they are unconstitutional.
"I think employers should be concerned because they don't necessarily know how this is gonna impact them," ACLU of Michigan staff attorney Miriam Aukerman said. "Registrants will be concerned, should be concerned, and frankly, the public should be concerned because this is making all of us less safe and it's going to cost taxpayers a lot of money."
Previous attempts at restrictions on where sex offenders can work have been shot down by courts as too vague.
"Almost half of registrants are unemployed, and that is really counterproductive because we know that employment is one of the most important things that that enable people to reintegrate into society," Aukerman said.
The ACLU of Michigan feels the bills, should they become law, are likely to be similarly shot down.
Aukerman also noted that a majority of employers already do background checks and base employment decisions on them.
"This is a bill looking for a problem rather than addressing a problem that exists," she said. "The problem that exists is that we have a bloated and broken registry and that needs to be fixed, and that's where the legislature should be spending its time."
Bierlein's bills are getting a vote in the state House Wednesday.