Michigan House Bill HB4714

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 7/1/25
• Refer: 7/1/25
• Report Pass: 9/3/25
• Engrossed: 9/16/25
• Refer: 9/18/25

Caption

Criminal procedure: sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for fraudulent insurance acts; provide for. Amends sec. 15a, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.15a). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4716'25

Summary

HB 4714 amends Michigan’s sentencing guidelines table in Chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure to add and classify several insurance-related offenses as felonies covered by the guidelines. The bill specifically lists offenses involving fraudulent insurance acts, false statements in insurance applications, insurance license and regulatory violations, improper personal interest in insurance transactions, false financial-condition misrepresentations, holding company violations, MEWA-related misconduct, and a consolidation/merger compensation offense. For each offense, the bill assigns a crime category and guideline class, which determines how the offense is scored for sentencing purposes. The bill is tied to HB 4716 and does not take effect unless that companion bill is enacted. In practical terms, HB 4714 would not create new crimes or change the underlying insurance statutes themselves; instead, it would update how Michigan courts treat these offenses at sentencing by placing them within the statutory sentencing-guideline framework. That means judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel would use the revised guideline classifications when handling covered insurance-fraud cases.

Impact

HB 4714 would amend MCL 777.15a, the sentencing-guidelines provision that lists felonies from the insurance code and related chapters that fall within Chapter XVII. Its effect is to revise the guideline treatment of specified insurance-fraud and insurance-regulation offenses, influencing recommended minimum sentences and the scoring of those offenses in criminal cases. The bill affects defendants charged with the listed insurance offenses, as well as courts applying Michigan’s sentencing guidelines, but it does not itself alter the substantive elements or penalties in the insurance code sections referenced.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It was reported from committee without amendment on a 10-0 vote and later passed the House on third reading with overwhelming support, 101-2, and immediate effect. No committee transcript is available, but the strong vote totals indicate the bill was generally viewed favorably as a technical sentencing-guidelines update for insurance-fraud offenses.

Contention

There is little evidence of major controversy in the available record. The main structural point is the tie-bar to HB 4716, meaning HB 4714 is contingent on companion legislation and cannot take effect independently. Any substantive concern would likely center on whether the listed insurance offenses should be placed in the particular guideline classes assigned, since those classifications can affect sentencing exposure, but no recorded debate or committee testimony is available here showing organized opposition or specific objections.