S.B. 596 & 597: COMMITTEE SUMMARY FALSE REPORTING PENALTIES
Senate Bills 596 and 597
Sponsor: Senator Joel D. Gougeon (Senate Bill 596) Senator Loren Bennett (Senate Bill 597)
Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services Date Completed: 10-18-95
Senate Bills 596 and 597 would amend the Child Protection Law and the Michigan Penal Code, respectively, to increase the penalty for making a false report of child abuse or neglect, or a false report of child sexual abuse or physical or emotional abuse or neglect of a child. The bills are tie-barred to each other.
The Child Protection Law requires certain individuals to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect, and prescribes penalties for various violations, including knowingly and maliciously making a false report of child abuse or neglect under the Law. Currently, that offense is a misdemeanor. Under Senate Bill 596, knowingly and maliciously making a false report under the Law would be a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to four years and/or a fine of up to
$2,500.
The Michigan Penal Code provides that it is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days and/or a maximum fine of $100, for a person willfully and knowingly to make a false report of a crime to a law enforcement officer. Senate Bill 597 would retain this penalty but create a separate penalty for false reports of child abuse. Under the bill, a person who willfully and knowingly made a false report of child sexual abuse or physical or emotional abuse or neglect of a child to a peace officer, court, prosecuting attorney, agency having jurisdiction over these matters, or person required to act on the report pursuant to the Child Protection Law, knowing that the report was false, would be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to four years and/or a maximum fine of $2,500.
MCL 722.633 (S.B. 596) Legislative Analyst: S. Margules 750.411a (S.B. 597)
The bills would have an indeterminate impact on State and local government.
Given that the false reporting of child abuse under current law is a misdemeanor, changing this violation to a felony could result in increased prison commitments, and a corresponding decrease in local fines and jail sanctions. There are, however, no data available on the projected number of annual violations, or the expected average number of prison sentences as a result of those
violations. An increase of five annual prison commitments, each receiving an average two-year prison sentence, could result in increased costs to the Department of Corrections of approximately $100,000 to $125,000 annually.
Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
S9596\S596SA
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.