Summary — HB 5157 (House Introduced Bill)
Status snapshot
- Bill number: HB 5157
- Title: Crimes: penalties; delivery of controlled substance causing serious injury; provide penalties
- Filed/Introduced: March 14, 2025 (latest electronic reproduction dated 10/29/2025)
- Committee referrals: initially referred to Human Services (April 7, 2025); later referred to Judiciary (10/29/2025)
- Effective date if enacted: 90 days after enactment
Purpose / intent
- HB 5157 creates a new criminal offense in the Michigan Penal Code that makes it a felony for a person to deliver certain controlled substances (Schedule 1 or 2, excluding marijuana) in violation of the Public Health Code when the delivered substance is consumed and causes “serious injury” to the consumer or to another person. The bill substantially increases penalties for such deliveries.
Key provisions
- New statutory section added to the Michigan Penal Code (proposed Sec. 89a).
- Offense: A person who delivers a Schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance (other than marijuana) in violation of MCL 333.7401 (the Public Health Code) and that substance is consumed by any person and causes serious injury to that person or another is guilty of a felony.
- Penalty: The offense is punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years.
- Definitions supplied:
- “Serious impairment of a body function” — nonexclusive examples include loss or loss of use of limb(s), loss of an eye or ear or their use, serious visible disfigurement, comatose state lasting more than 3 days, measurable brain or mental impairment, skull fracture or other serious bone fracture, subdural hemorrhage/hematoma, loss of an organ, and substantial impairment of a bodily function.
- “Serious injury” — defined as permanent serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health, or serious impairment of a body function.
Who would be affected
- Primary targets: individuals who deliver (distribute or furnish) Schedule 1 or 2 drugs (excluding marijuana) in violation of the Public Health Code and whose delivered substance is consumed and results in serious injury to any person.
- Secondary effects: could apply to suppliers/distributors whose conduct leads to injury of the consumer or bystanders; prosecutions would rely on linking delivery, consumption, and resulting serious injury.
Procedural / timeline aspects
- If enacted, the law takes effect 90 days after the governor signs it.
- As of the latest entry, the bill has been introduced and referred to House committees for consideration.
Practical considerations
- The statute ties criminal liability to (1) unlawful delivery under MCL 333.7401, (2) consumption of that delivery, and (3) resulting serious injury. The bill supplies illustrative but not exhaustive examples of “serious impairment” and defines “serious injury.”
- The bill prescribes a very severe sentencing range (including life imprisonment), which could affect charging decisions, plea negotiations, and defenses focused on causation, intent, and the link between delivery and injury.
