Bay County, MI Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Offense
- Loitering in/about a school without permission
- Buffer zone
- 300 feet from school property
- Penalty
- Up to $100 fine or 90 days jail
- Applies to
- Any person, not just minors
- Adopted
- Ordinance No. 24, 1983 (amended 1994)
Summary
Bay County makes it a misdemeanor to loiter in or about a school building or on school grounds without a legitimate reason and without written permission from a school administrator. The ban also reaches anyone loitering within 300 feet of school-owned property, unless they're on private property with that property owner's permission, and it's punishable by up to $100 or 90 days in jail.
Sec. 23-16. A person commits the crime of loitering about a school if he or she: (a)Loiters or remains in or about a school building or grounds, not having any reason or relationship involving custody or responsibility for a pupil or any other specific legitimate reason for being there, and not having written permission from a school administrator.(b)Loiters within three hundred (300) feet from the edge of school owned property unless he or she is on property with permission of the occupant of that property.
Full Breakdown
Part 41, Article IV of the county code, adopted as part of Ordinance No. 24 in 1983 and amended July 12, 1994, creates the county's only stand-alone loitering offense. 2316 (Sec. 23-16) defines the crime of loitering about a school in two ways: loitering or remaining in or about a school building or its grounds without any reason or relationship involving custody or responsibility for a pupil, or any other specific legitimate reason, and without written permission from a school administrator; and loitering within 300 feet of the edge of school-owned property, unless the person is on property with the permission of that property's occupant.
The rule is narrower than a general anti-loitering ordinance: Bay County does not have a citywide or countywide loitering ban for streets, parks or business districts outside the school-proximity zone. 2310, means to linger idly or aimlessly in or about a place, or to move or go in a slow or lagging manner, language borrowed to interpret the school-specific offense as well. 2350, which applies whenever the ordinance doesn't specify its own fine. The offense is enforced by the Bay County Sheriff's Office and can be charged against anyone regardless of age, unlike the curfew provisions in Article II, which apply only to minors.
Violations & Fines
Because Article IV has no penalty section of its own, a violation falls under Section 41.2350, the ordinance's catch-all: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00, imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both, at the court's discretion. Each day a continuing violation persists counts as a separate offense under that same section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to hang around outside a Bay County school?
Does Bay County's loitering law apply outside of schools?
What's the penalty for school loitering in Bay County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bay County
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