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SB 202

Establishing crime of sexual assault in fourth degree

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Eric Tarr

SB 202 expands penalties for intentionally making false emergency or crime reports to law enforcement, 9-1-1, or responders and allows courts to recover response costs.

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Bill Summary · SB 202

Summary — SB 202 (introduced April 15, 2025)

Crimes: prohibiting intentional false reports of serious law‑enforcement or medical emergencies; penalties. Amends MCL 750.411a.

Purpose / Intent

SB 202 strengthens criminal penalties and recovery options for people who intentionally place false reports to law enforcement, 9‑1‑1, first responders, or other authorized government recipients — including reports intended to summon an armed response to a private residence — and for those who intentionally make false medical/emergency reports.

Key provisions

  • Amends MCL 750.411a to broaden and clarify prohibited conduct and associated penalties.
  • Prohibited acts (examples):
    • Intentionally making or causing a false report of the commission of a crime to a peace officer, police agency, 9‑1‑1 operator, or other authorized government recipient, knowing the report is false.
    • Knowingly making a false report or threatening to commit certain enumerated offenses (see subsection (2) referencing chapter XXXIII and certain sections).
    • Intentionally making or causing a false report of a medical or other emergency to law enforcement, fire, 9‑1‑1, medical first responder, or other authorized recipient.
  • Graded criminal penalties (selected):
    • False report of a misdemeanor: misdemeanor — up to 93 days imprisonment and/or fine up to $500.
    • False report of a felony: felony — up to 4 years and/or fine up to $2,000.
    • False report made with intent to cause a response: felony — up to 4 years and/or fine up to $2,000.
    • If a false report leads to a response and a person suffers physical injury: felony — up to 5 years and/or fine up to $20,000.
    • If the response results in serious impairment of a body function: felony — up to 10 years and/or fine up to $25,000.
    • If the response results in death: felony — up to 15 years and a fine between $25,000 and $50,000.
  • Subsection (2) — false reports or threats regarding specified offenses: felony penalties; first offense up to 4 years/$2,000, second or subsequent offense up to 10 years/$5,000.
  • Cost recovery: the court may order a convicted person to pay the costs of the emergency response (police, fire, medical, other). Special parental‑payment and installment rules if the offender is a juvenile.
  • Juvenile provisions: courts may order parents to pay outstanding costs in certain circumstances, with procedures for installments, consideration of parent resources, and modification.

Who is affected

  • Individuals who call or otherwise transmit false information to law enforcement, 9‑1‑1, fire/EMS, or other authorized government recipients (including juveniles and their parents).
  • 9‑1‑1 operators, police, fire, EMS and other emergency response agencies (as potential recoverers of response costs).
  • Prosecutors and courts handling related criminal cases.

Enforcement & procedural notes

  • Prosecutions would proceed under amended MCL 750.411a; courts may order payment of response costs under Michigan criminal procedure authority.
  • Juvenile‑related cost orders include procedural protections and ability to seek modification.

Status / Next steps

  • Introduced April 15, 2025.
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety (current status).

Potential practical effects (neutral framing)

  • Strengthens criminal deterrence against hoax 9‑1‑1 and false emergency calls and creates clearer, tiered penalties tied to harms caused by the emergency response.
  • Enables cost recovery for public emergency responses, which could offset municipal expenses but may raise administrative and fairness questions in juvenile or ambiguous‑intent cases.

If you’d like, I can: (1) extract the exact statutory subsections being changed (redline style), (2) map how penalties differ from current law, or (3) draft a one‑page memo on likely enforcement and municipal fiscal impacts. Which would be most helpful?

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

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