Criminal procedure: sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for manufacturing, creating, delivering, or possessing with intent certain schedule 1 and 2 controlled substances; amend. Amends sec. 13m, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.13m). TIE BAR WITH: SB 460'25
SB 461 amends Michigan’s sentencing guidelines table in the Code of Criminal Procedure for a wide range of controlled-substance offenses. The bill updates the offense classifications and recommended minimum sentence ranges for crimes involving the manufacture, delivery, or possession of controlled substances, including heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, methamphetamine, MDMA, marijuana, counterfeit controlled substances, prescription fraud, drug labs, GBL, and related offenses. It also covers certain precursor chemicals such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, and offenses involving drug activity near parks or involving minors, firearms, hazardous waste, or criminal sexual conduct.
The bill is structured as an amendatory act to MCL 777.13m and would take effect 90 days after enactment, but only if Senate Bill 460 is also enacted. In practical terms, it revises how these drug offenses are scored under Michigan’s sentencing guidelines, which can affect the recommended minimum prison terms judges consider at sentencing. Because the bill is a guidelines amendment rather than a standalone criminalization measure, its main effect is on punishment levels and sentencing consistency rather than on defining new crimes.
SB 461 would amend section 13m of chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, changing Michigan’s sentencing guidelines for numerous controlled-substance offenses listed in chapter 333 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. The bill affects the offense class and statutory maximum references used in sentencing for drug trafficking, possession, manufacturing, counterfeit drug activity, prescription-related fraud, and drug-lab offenses, thereby influencing recommended minimum sentences and judicial scoring under the guidelines. Its tie-bar to SB 460 means it cannot take effect unless the companion bill is also enacted.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill’s subject matter and structure, it appears to be a technical but substantive sentencing update focused on controlled-substance offenses, especially serious drug and fentanyl-related crimes. The absence of recorded discussion makes the overall sentiment difficult to assess beyond the bill’s apparent policy goal of revising sentencing ranges for drug offenses.
The likely points of contention are the bill’s sentencing impacts for drug offenses, particularly whether the revised guidelines are too punitive or not punitive enough for offenses involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, large-scale trafficking, and drug-lab activity. Stakeholders most likely to care include prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, criminal justice reform advocates, and law enforcement. The tie-bar to SB 460 is also notable because it links the bill’s fate to companion legislation, suggesting the package is intended to work together and may have been negotiated as part of a broader sentencing reform or enforcement update.