BOMB THREAT PENALTIES - S.B. 645 (S-2): FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 645 (Substitute S-2 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Valde Garcia
Committee: Education
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to require the Secretary of State to delay or suspend the driver's licenses of minors who made false reports of a bomb threat to a school.
It would take effect on April 1, 2002.
The bill would require that a person younger than 14, convicted of or having received a juvenile disposition for knowingly making a false report of a bomb threat to a school, be prohibited from beginning graduated driver's license training until he or she was 16 years old and from receiving a graduated driver's license until he or she was 17 years old.
A person who was at least 14 but younger than 21 found guilty of or responsible for knowingly making a false report of a bomb threat to a school would be prohibited from receiving graduated licensing training or a graduated driver's license until three years after his or her conviction date or juvenile disposition.
If the person already had a driver's license, it would have to be suspended for three years, beginning with the conviction date or juvenile disposition. The Secretary of State could issue the person a restricted license after the first 365 days of suspension.
Making a fictitious bomb threat would include issuing false claims about explosives, smoke bombs, and harmful biological, chemical, or radioactive substances, among others.
Further, the bill states that each municipal judge and clerk of a court of record would have to prepare and forward to the Secretary of State an abstract of the court record of any bomb threats made to police, sheriffs, or peace officers of the State.
MCL 257.303 et al. - Legislative Analyst: C. Layman
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a minimal fiscal impact on the State. Revenue from the graduated driver license program ($13 per Level 2 license issued) and driver license reinstatement fees ($125 per license reinstated) would be delayed for three years. In some cases, the person could be issued a restricted license after one year and the revenue would be delayed for only one year. No data are available on how many juveniles have been convicted of or found responsible for this crime. According to the Center for Educational Performance and Information, at least 240 bomb threats were made at Michigan schools during the 2000-01 school year. The center cautions that a significant number of schools did not report any data and conclusions cannot be drawn from the limited data. In 1999, 44 adults were convicted of making a false bomb threat.
The bill would have no fiscal impact on local units of government.
Date Completed: 12-3-01 - Fiscal Analyst: J. Runnels
floor\sb645 - Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.