PENALTY FOR FALSE REPORTING

OF A PUBLIC THREAT

Senate Bill 976 (passed by the Senate as S-1)

Sponsor:  Sen. Mike Nofs

House Committee:  Communications and Technology

Senate Committee:  Judiciary

Complete to 6-3-16

SUMMARY:

Senate Bill 976 is the Senate counterpart to House Bill 5449, which has already passed the House as part of a three-bill package creating a public threat alert system.  Both SB 976 and HB 5449 classify the new felony of falsely reporting a public threat as a Class F felony and add it to the Code of Criminal Procedure.

House Bill 5442 would create a new act, the "Public Threat Alert System Act." This act would relate to notifications to be delivered during emergencies, including active shooter situations, and would make falsely reporting a public threat a felony.  A third bill, House Bill 5567, would amend Section 1f of the Code of Criminal Procedure to add the false reporting of a public threat to a list of offenses where the convicted may be ordered to reimburse the state or local unit of government for expenses incurred as a result of the offense.

MCL 777.11b

FISCAL IMPACT:

Senate Bill 976 amends sentencing guidelines and does not have a direct fiscal impact on the state or on local units of government.

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Josh Roesner

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Robin Risko

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.