Criminal procedure: sentencing; penalties for certain crimes of imprisonment for life without parole eligibility; amend public health code to reflect potential resentencing. Amends sec. 17764 of 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.17764).

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Abraham Aiyash and 19 co-sponsors

HB 4559 stops the mandatory life-without-parole in Public Health Code from blocking Second Look resentencing, preserving eligibility if HB 4556 passes.

placed on third reading

#crimes:penalties #criminalprocedure:sentencing

Purpose

HB 4559 is a narrow statutory amendment intended to preserve the availability of resentencing under a broader "Second Look Sentencing" package (House Bills 4556–4560). Specifically, it makes mandatory life‑without‑parole (LWOP) sentencing provisions in the Public Health Code (MCL 333.17764) inapplicable when a sentence is being reconsidered through the resentencing procedures created by the Second Look legislation (MCL 769.27a–769.27h).

Key provisions

Amends section 17764 of the Public Health Code (MCL 333.17764).

Adds subsection (9) (or revises it) to provide that the mandatory sentences prescribed in subsection (7) (the LWOP mandatory penalty) do not apply to a resentencing conducted under sections 27a–27h of Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL 769.27a–769.27h).

Leaves intact the substantive criminal prohibitions and penalties in section 17764 (e.g., penalties for adulterating/misbranding drugs that result in personal injury, serious impairment, or death), including existing fines and imprisonment ranges; the change only affects whether the mandatory LWOP described in subsection (7) is binding on a court when resentencing under the Second Look process.

Includes an enactment contingency: the amendatory act does not take effect unless HB 4556 (the primary Second Look bill establishing resentencing procedures) is also enacted.

Who would be affected

Individuals serving sentences under MCL 333.17764 who were subject to the mandatory LWOP provision in subsection (7) would become eligible to seek resentencing under the Second Look procedures (if HB 4556 is enacted).

Sentencing courts, prosecuting attorneys, victims, and the corrections system — because resentencing petitions and potential sentence reductions could alter incarceration terms, supervision, and victim‑notification processes established in the companion bills.

The change does not itself create resentencing procedure or eligibility rules; it only removes the bar of the statutory mandatory LWOP for the purpose of any resentencing authorized under the companion statutes.

Context and procedural status

HB 4559 is one bill in a package (HBs 4556–4560) collectively called the Second Look Sentencing Act; HB 4556 is the central bill establishing resentencing procedures and eligibility.

Introduced May 16, 2023 (sponsor: Rep. Donavan McKinney). Committee and floor activity through late 2024 placed the bill on third reading (committee report complete to 12‑11‑24).

The amendment is expressly contingent on enactment of HB 4556; it does not operate alone.

Practical effect

If the Second Look resentencing framework (HB 4556) becomes law, HB 4559 ensures that mandatory LWOP under MCL 333.17764(7) will not foreclose a court from considering a resentencing petition under MCL 769.27a–769.27h. In short, it preserves resentencing eligibility for persons whose convictions under the Public Health Code previously carried a mandatory LWOP term.

Bill