WEAPONS AT AIRPORTS: SENT. GUID. - S.B. 505 (S-4): FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 505 (Substitute S-4 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Philip E. Hoffman
Committee: Judiciary
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to add to the sentencing guidelines the felony of possessing a weapon in a sterile area of a commercial airport, as proposed by Senate Bill 502. The offense would be categorized as a Class D felony against the public safety, with a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bill 502 and would take effect on January 1, 2002.
MCL 777.12 - Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
Senate Bills 502 (S-3) and 505 (S-4) would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on State and local government.
There are no data available to indicate how many offenders would be convicted of possessing or carrying a firearm; explosive; knife with blade of any length; razor, box cutter, or item with similar blade; or any dangerous weapon in a sterile area of a commercial airport.
Under the bills, an offender convicted of possessing, carrying, or attempting to possess or carry an item listed above in a sterile area of a commercial airport would receive a misdemeanor sentence of 0-12 months. Offenders convicted of a misdemeanor are subject to probation or incarceration in a local facility. Local units incur the cost of probation as well as the cost of incarceration, which vary depending on county between $27 and $62 per day.
Under the bills, an offender convicted of possessing or carrying any of the above items while getting on an airplane, while placing a prohibited item on an airplane, or while committing a felony, would be guilty of a Class D felony for which the minimum sentencing range is 0-6 months to 43-76 months. In the absence of data, if one assumes that 10 offenders a year would be convicted of this offense and receive the longest minimum sentence, given that the average annual cost of incarceration is $22,000, the cost to the State would be $1.4 million.
Date Completed: 10-2-01 - Fiscal Analyst: B. Wicksall
floor\sb505 - Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org
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.