HB-4713, As Passed Senate, December 15, 2015

SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 4713

A bill to amend 1846 RS 1, entitled

"Of the statutes,"

(MCL 8.1 to 8.8) by adding section 9.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 9. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a

person is not guilty of a criminal offense committed on or after

January 1, 2016 unless both of the following apply:

(a) The person's criminal liability is based on conduct that

includes either a voluntary act or an omission to perform an act or

duty that the person is capable of performing.

(b) The person has the requisite degree of culpability for

each element of the offense as to which a culpable mental state is

specified by the language defining the offense.

(2) If the statutory language defining a criminal offense does

not specify any degree of culpability and plainly imposes strict

criminal liability for the conduct described in the statute, then

culpability is not required for a person to be guilty of the

offense. The fact that a subsection of a statute plainly imposes

strict liability for an offense defined in that subsection does not

by itself plainly impose strict criminal liability for an offense

defined in another subsection of that statute that does not specify

a degree of culpability.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), if statutory

language defining an element of a criminal offense that is related

to knowledge or intent or as to which mens rea could reasonably be

applied neither specifies culpability nor plainly imposes strict

liability, the element of the offense is established only if a

person acts with intent, knowledge, or recklessness.

(4) Subsection (3) does not relieve the prosecution of the

burden of proving the culpable mental state required by any

definition incorporated into the offense.

(5) If a statute defining a criminal offense provides that

negligence suffices to establish an element of the offense, then

intent, knowledge, or recklessness is also sufficient culpability

to satisfy that element. If recklessness suffices to establish an

element of an offense, then knowledge or intent is also sufficient

culpability to satisfy that element. If knowledge suffices to

establish an element of an offense, then intent is also sufficient

culpability to satisfy that element.

(6) It is not a defense to a crime that the defendant was, at

the time the crime occurred, under the influence of or impaired by

a voluntarily and knowingly consumed alcoholic liquor, drug,

including a controlled substance, other substance or compound, or

combination of alcoholic liquor, drug, or other substance or

compound. However, it is an affirmative defense to a specific

intent crime, for which the defendant has the burden of proof by a

preponderance of the evidence, that he or she voluntarily ingested

a legally obtained and properly used medication or other substance

and did not know and reasonably should not have known that he or

she would become intoxicated or impaired.

(7) This section does not apply to, and shall not be construed

to affect, crimes under any of the following:

(a) The Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to

257.923.

(b) The public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101 to

333.25211.

to 445.79c.

(d) The Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.1 to

750.568.

(e) Chapter 752 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

(8) If a statute defining an offense prescribes a culpable

mental state but does not specify the element to which it applies,

the prescribed culpable mental state applies to each material

element of the offense that necessarily requires a culpable mental

state.

(9) The mere absence of a specified state of mind for an

element of a covered offense shall not be construed to mean that

the legislature affirmatively intended not to require the

prosecution to prove any state of mind.

(10) As used in this section:

(a) "Culpable" means sufficiently responsible for criminal

acts or negligence to be at fault and liable to punishment for

commission of a crime.

(b) "Intent" means a desire or will to act with respect to a

material element of an offense if both of the following

circumstances exist:

(i) The element involves the nature of a person's conduct or a

result of that conduct, and it is the person's conscious object to

engage in conduct of that nature or to cause that result.

(ii) The element involves the attendant circumstances, and the

person is aware of the existence of those circumstances or believes

or hopes that they exist.

a condition of intoxication resulting from the ingestion of

alcoholic liquor, a controlled substance, or alcoholic liquor and a

controlled substance. As used in this subdivision:

(i) "Alcoholic liquor" means that term as defined in section

105 of the Michigan liquor control code of 1998, 1998 PA 58, MCL

436.1105.

(ii) "Controlled substance" means that term as defined in

section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7104.

(iii) "Ingestion" means to have eaten, drunk, ingested,

inhaled, injected, or topically applied, or to have performed any

combination of those actions, or otherwise introduced into the

body.

(d) "Knowledge" means awareness or understanding with respect

to a material element of an offense if both of the following

circumstances exist:

(i) The element involves the nature or the attendant

circumstances of the person's conduct, and the person is aware that

his or her conduct is of that nature or that those circumstances

exist.

(ii) The element involves a result of the person's conduct,

and the person is aware that it is practically certain that his or

her conduct will cause that result.

(e) "Negligence" means the failure to use reasonable care with

respect to a material element of an offense to avoid consequences

that are the foreseeable outcome of the person's conduct with

respect to a material element of an offense and that threaten or

harm the safety of another.

(f) "Recklessness" means an act or failure to act that

demonstrates a deliberate, willful, or wanton disregard of a

substantial and unjustifiable risk without reasonable caution for

the rights, safety, and property of others.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act only applies to crimes

committed on or after January 1, 2016.