FORGERY; ELECTIONS LAW H.B. 5992 (H-3):
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 5992 (Substitute H-3 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Steve Marino
House Committee: Elections and Ethics
Senate Committee: Elections and Government Reform
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to specify that, except as otherwise provided in the Law, a person who knowingly did either of the following for any purpose would be guilty of forgery:
-- Made, filed, or otherwise published a false document with the intent to defraud.
-- Made, filed, or otherwise published a document that contained false signatures with the intent to defraud.
Under the Law, a person found guilty of forgery, unless otherwise provided in the Law is punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 or by up to five years' imprisonment, or both.
Proposed MCL 168.933a Legislative Analyst: Tyler VanHuyse
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill could have a negative fiscal impact on the State and local government. More felony arrests and convictions could increase resource demands on law enforcement, court systems, community supervision, jails, and correctional facilities. The average cost to State government for felony probation supervision is approximately $3,024 per probationer per year. For any increase in prison intakes, in the short term, the marginal cost to State government would be approximately $3,764 per prisoner per year. Any associated increase in fine revenue would increase funding to public libraries.
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.