LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate on Tuesday approved Sen. Ruth Johnson’s legislation to ensure personal protection orders are immediately served by law enforcement officials at no cost to victims.
“These long-overdue reforms are about saving lives and improving protections for all survivors of domestic violence and stalking in our state,” said Johnson, R-Holly. “People facing imminent threats of violence should never have to live in fear because they don’t have the money to pay for a personal protection order to be served.”
Under Michigan law, someone seeking a PPO must pay fees that include mileage and other costs for the order to be served or they may designate someone they know — like a relative — to serve the PPO for them.
“Forcing someone to choose between not having a PPO served, paying a fee they may not have, or sending a family member or friend to confront someone who has already demonstrated threatening or violent behavior is shameful and illogical,” Johnson said. “These commonsense measures would have Michigan join 43 other states in eliminating these costs and require law enforcement officers to swiftly serve protective orders.”
Johnson said the tragic murder of Latricia Green earlier this year by her estranged ex-husband at her workplace in Detroit is an example of the need for these reforms. Green had recently obtained a second PPO, but the order had not yet been served.
Senate Bills 611-612 would require immediate, no-cost service of PPOs by law enforcement.
SB 612, sponsored by Johnson, would require a PPO issued in domestic violence and stalking situations to be served personally, by registered mail with delivery restricted to the addressee at the last known address or by another method as allowed by court rules.
The bill would also create the Personal Protection Order Service Fund, administered by the Michigan State Police, to cover local law enforcement costs for providing the service. The fund received $1 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
SB 611, sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, would ban a court or law enforcement officer from charging a petitioner for serving a PPO. Under the bill, the law enforcement agency serving the document may collect $50, or $26 plus mileage, from the Personal Protection Order Service Fund created in SB 612.
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