Bill
SB 1083
Deletes the adultery sample indictment from the Code; ties to repealing adultery statutes, effectively decriminalizing adultery and cohabitation if SB 1085 passes.
Status / Key dates
- Introduced: Nov. 7, 2024 (Sen. Jeff Irwin).
- Passed Senate: Dec. 5, 2024.
- Current status: Placed on second reading in the House (as of early 2025).
- Effective condition: This amendatory act does not take effect unless companion Senate Bill 1085 (which would repeal the criminal adultery statutes) is enacted.
Purpose and intent
- SB 1083 removes the specific sample indictment wording for adultery from chapter VII (grand juries, indictments, information, and proceedings before trial) of the Michigan Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL 767.44). The change is part of a package (SB 1083–1085) intended to eliminate the criminal treatment of adultery and related cohabitation offenses that have effectively gone unenforced for decades.
What the bill would do (key provisions)
- Deletes the adultery example “forms” from MCL 767.44 that prosecutors could use when pleading adultery (e.g., “A.B., a married man, committed adultery with C.D.” or “A.B. committed adultery with C.D., a married woman”).
- SB 1083 is tie‑barred to SB 1084 and SB 1085:
- SB 1085 would repeal MCL 750.29–750.32 (the statutes that define adultery, set penalties—including up to 4 years’ imprisonment or a fine up to $5,000—and limit prosecution to a spouse within one year—and that criminalize cohabitation by divorced parties).
- SB 1084 would remove adultery/cohabitation entries from the sentencing guidelines chapter (MCL 777.16a).
Who would be affected
- Prosecutors and courts: removes a prescribed form example for indictments; if SB 1085 is enacted, prosecutors would no longer be able to charge adultery or cohabitation of divorced parties under the penal code.
- Persons previously subject to these rare, historical statutes: would no longer face criminal prosecution under those specific enumerated statutes if the repeal is enacted.
- No anticipated operational effect on court administration if only SB 1083 is enacted; substantive decriminalization requires SB 1085.
Rationale and context
- Committee testimony and analyses note that Michigan’s adultery laws have not been enforced since no‑fault divorce was adopted in 1972. The package aims to modernize the statute book by removing obsolete criminal provisions and related procedural references.
Fiscal impact
- Nonpartisan analyses (Senate and House fiscal offices) estimate no fiscal impact on state or local governments or courts from removing the indictment form alone. SB 1084’s change to sentencing guidelines is estimated to have no local fiscal impact and an indeterminate impact on the State (because sentencing guidelines are advisory per People v. Lockridge). Repeal of the underlying adultery statutes (SB 1085) is likewise judged to have no fiscal impact because the statutes have not been enforced for decades.
Statutory references
- Amends: MCL 767.44 (Code of Criminal Procedure — forms).
- Related/tie‑bar bills: MCL 777.16a (SB 1084) and repeal of MCL 750.29–750.32 (SB 1085).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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