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HB 6043

Criminal procedure: sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for killing or causing serious physical harm to a police dog, police horse, or a search and rescue dog; modify.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Jennifer Conlin

HB 6043 adds law-enforcement and search-and-rescue animal cruelty offenses to Michigan’s sentencing-guidelines chapter to standardize and guide penalties.

bill electronically reproduced 11/07/2024
#crimes:animals #crimes:penalties #criminalprocedure:sentencingguidelines
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Bill Summary · HB 6043

Summary — HB 6043 (Introduced Nov. 7, 2024; Michigan)

Note on source materials: the package of documents provided includes committee reports from another state (Florida) that appear to be unrelated to the introduced Michigan bill. This summary is based on the Michigan "House Introduced Bill" text (House Bill No. 6043) and the bill history entries showing introduction by Rep. Jennifer Conlin and subsequent referrals.

Purpose and intent

HB 6043 amends Michigan’s Code of Criminal Procedure (1927 PA 175) by updating the list of felony offenses to which Chapter XVII (sentencing guidelines) applies. Among other enumerated offenses, the bill explicitly includes offenses that involve killing or causing serious physical harm to law-enforcement animals (e.g., police dogs or horses) and search-and-rescue dogs. The intent is to ensure these offenses are listed in the sentencing-guidelines chapter so that prosecutors and courts apply the sentencing grid and specified guideline procedures for those crimes.

Key provisions

  • Amends section 16b of Chapter XVII (MCL 777.16b) to add or clarify a set of felony offenses covered by the sentencing-guidelines chapter.
  • Specifically references statutory sections involving:
    • Offenses concerning killing or torturing animals and related animal-cruelty provisions (see MCL 750.50 series items).
    • Offenses involving law-enforcement animals and search-and-rescue dogs, including killing or causing serious physical harm to such animals (identified in the draft as MCL 750.50c provisions).
  • Sets an effective date of 90 days after the bill is enacted (Enacting section 1).
  • Contains a conditional enactment clause: the act “does not take effect unless” a companion bill (Senate Bill ____ or House Bill 6042 of the 102nd Legislature) is enacted (Enacting section 2).

Who is affected

  • Persons prosecuted for violent or animal-cruelty felonies involving law-enforcement or search-and-rescue animals: inclusion in Chapter XVII will govern how sentencing guidelines are applied to those offenses.
  • Law enforcement agencies and K‑9 / mounted units and search-and-rescue organizations, which may see legal consequences for assaults/killing of their animals reflected in sentencing practice.
  • Prosecutors and judges: procedural sentencing application will reflect the amended offense list.
  • Potential fiscal impact on state corrections (depending on resulting sentence lengths), though the bill text does not include a fiscal analysis.

Procedural status and timeline

  • Introduced in the Michigan House on Nov. 7, 2024 by Rep. Jennifer Conlin; first reading occurred the same day and referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice.
  • Legislative history entries list additional referrals and actions through early 2025.
  • If enacted, the bill would take effect 90 days after the date of enactment, but enactment is conditioned on passage of the identified companion bill.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • By expressly listing offenses against law-enforcement and search-and-rescue animals in the sentencing-guidelines chapter, HB 6043 standardizes application of the guidelines for these crimes and could affect prescribed sentence ranges (potentially resulting in more consistent, and depending on the grid position, potentially longer or shorter sentences).
  • Fiscal impacts are uncertain and would depend on whether inclusion changes typical sentence lengths and the number of prosecutions.
  • The conditional effectiveness clause means the bill’s implementation depends on passage of related legislation.

If you want, I can:
- Pull the specific statutory text proposed for MCL 750.50c (and related subsections) and summarize which paragraph corresponds to which conduct and proposed classification; or
- Prepare a side-by-side showing current Chapter XVII coverage versus the bill’s proposed list.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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