PAROLE: CHEM. & BIO. WEAPONS - S.B. 1011 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 1011 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor: Senator Gary Peters

Committee: Judiciary

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Department of Corrections (DOC) law to prohibit parole for prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for life without possibility of parole under Senate Bill 443. (Senate Bill 443 (S-5) would require a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for the manufacture, delivery, possession, transport, placement, use, or release of a harmful biological substance or device, a harmful chemical substance or device, or a harmful radioactive material or device, if the violation resulted in the death of another individual.) The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bill 443.

The DOC law provides that a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life or for a term of years, other than a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder or for life or a term of years for a major controlled substance offense, is subject to the jurisdiction of the parole board and may be released on parole after either 10 or 15 years. (A prisoner sentenced for a crime committed before October 1, 1992, is eligible for parole after serving 10 years; a prisoner sentenced for a crime committed on or after that date is eligible for parole after serving 15 years.)

The bill would add to the exception from parole eligibility a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life under Senate Bill 443.

MCL 791.234 - Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter

FISCAL IMPACT

Senate Bill 1011 (S-1) would require life sentences without parole for new crimes that would be created under Senate Bill 443. To the extent that there are no data to indicate how many people would be convicted of those new crimes, and of those convicted how many would be sentenced to life, the fiscal impact of the bill is indeterminate. On average, assuming an offender sentenced to life without parole serves 50 years, the cost of incarceration would be $900,000.

Date Completed: 3-23-98 - Fiscal Analyst: K. Firestonefloor\sb1011 - 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.