ENDANGER EMERGENCY MED. PERSONNEL - H.B. 5601 (H-2): COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 5601 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Mike Kowall
House Committee: Criminal Justice
Senate Committee: Judiciary
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to include felony violations proposed by House Bill 5600 in the sentencing guidelines and to make other revisions to the guidelines. (House Bill 5600 (H-3), as passed by the House, would establish felony penalties for obstructing, resisting, opposing, endangering, assaulting, beating, or wounding any emergency medical service personnel while he or she was performing his or her authorized duties.)
The bill would take effect on July 1, 2002, and is tie-barred to House Bill 5600.
The bill would add to the sentencing guidelines felony violations regarding resisting or obstructing a public officer or emergency medical services personnel, proposed by House Bill 5600, as shown in the table below.
|
Offense |
Felony
Class |
Crime
Category |
Stat. Max.
Sentence |
| Resisting/Obstructing Causing Bodily Injury |
F |
Person |
4 Years |
| Resisting/Obstructing Causing Serious Injury |
D |
Person |
10 Years |
| Resisting/Obstructing Causing Death | A | Person | 20 Years |
The bill also would do all of the following:
-- Change the sentencing guidelines offense description for resisting or obstructing a peace officer, to resisting or obstructing a public officer or emergency medical services personnel.
-- Change the sentencing guidelines offense description for retaliating for the reporting of a crime, to withholding evidence, preventing the reporting of a crime, or retaliating for the reporting of a crime.
-- Include offering false evidence in the sentencing guidelines offense descriptions for tampering with evidence.
(The latter two charges would reflect amendments proposed by House Bill 5444 (H-2).)
MCL 777.16x - Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on State and local government.
According to the 1999 Department of Corrections Statistical Report, 330 offenders were convicted of violating MCL 750.479, but there are no data that identify the extent of injury to an officer. Table 1 shows the sentencing guideline minimum ranges for the three proposed violations.
Table 1
| Violation | Felony Class | Sentencing Guideline Minimum Range |
| Resisting/Obstructing Inflicting Bodily Injury | F | 0-3 months to 17-30 months |
| Resisting/Obstructing Inflicting Serious Injury |
D |
0-6 months to 43-76 months |
| Resisting/Obstructing Causing Death | A | 21-35 months to
270-450 months or life |
In the absence of data, if one assumes that 10 offenders would be convicted of each of the three felonies with increased penalties, sentenced to prison, and receive the longest minimum sentences, it would cost the State an additional $4.7 million, at an average annual cost of incarceration of $25,000. The bill also could increase costs by including actions against emergency medical services personnel.
- Fiscal Analyst: Bethany WicksallS0102\s5601sa
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.