Michigan would no longer automatically treat 17-year-old criminal defendants as adults under bills that cleared a significant legislative hurdle Wednesday and may soon reach the desk of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The Republican-led Senate, for the first time, overwhelmingly passed "raise the age" measures after not embracing them in past sessions. The GOP-controlled House plans to approve a similar plan Thursday, after which lawmakers will work to resolve differences over how to ensure the state fully funds an additional $17 million to $47 million in annual juvenile justice costs for counties. The legislation would take effect in October 2021.

"We want to make sure our kids are not hindered because they've made poor decisions in their youth. This is the right thing to do," said Sen. Sylvia Santana, a Detroit Democrat and sponsor of one of the bills. Past "get-tough-on-crime" laws, she said, "only resulted in more crime" and "having juveniles sexually assaulted in the prison and treated as prey by adults."

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