ENDANGERED SPECIES VIOLATIONS H.B. 4963: FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 4963 (as reported without amendment) Sponsor: Representative Sandra Hill
House Committee: Judiciary and Civil Rights
Senate Committee: Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
The bill would amend Part 365 (Endangered Species Protection) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to make the penalty for violations of that part permissive, rather than mandatory. Currently, a person who violates Part 365 or fails to procure any permit required under that part is guilty of a misdemeanor and “shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 nor less than $100.00, or imprisoned for more than 90 days, or both”. Under the bill, a violation would be punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or a fine of not more than $1,000 or less than $100, or both.
MCL 324.36507 Legislative Analyst: S. Margules
The bill would have no fiscal impact on the State, and could result in some cost savings to local units of government.
To the extent that judges had been sanctioning offenders due to the mandatory language, and would under permissive language, not sanction these offenders, then the locals could experience some savings, to the extent that these sanctions included incarceration in the county jail. There are no data currently available on the annual number of convictions for violations of Part 365 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.
Date Completed: 2-22-96 Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
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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.