SENATE BILL No. 242
March 21, 2019, Introduced by Senators IRWIN, CHANG, GEISS, ALEXANDER, WOJNO, HERTEL, ANANICH, MOSS and BULLOCK and referred to the Committee on Environmental Quality.
A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled
"The Michigan penal code,"
by amending the title and sections 282 and 383a (MCL 750.282 and
750.383a), the title as amended by 2010 PA 107, section 282 as
amended by 1987 PA 32, and section 383a as amended by 2008 PA 413.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
TITLE
An act to revise, consolidate, codify, and add to the statutes
relating to crimes; to define crimes and certain state civil
infractions and prescribe the penalties, sanctions, and remedies;
to provide for restitution under certain circumstances; to provide
for the competency of evidence at the trial of persons accused of
crime; to provide immunity from prosecution for certain witnesses
appearing at criminal trials; to provide for liability for damages;
and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts inconsistent with or
contravening any of the provisions of this act.
Sec. 282. (1) A person shall not do any of the following:
(a) Willfully or fraudulently injure, or fraudulently allow to
be injured, a meter, wire, line, pipe, or appliance belonging to a
water, steam, electric, or gas company, or propane gas dealer or
distributor.
(b) Willfully or fraudulently prevent a water, steam,
electric, gas, or propane gas meter belonging to a water, steam,
electric, or gas company, or propane gas dealer or distributor from
duly registering the quantity of water, steam, electric current,
gas, or propane gas measured through the meter, or in any way
hinder or interfere with the meter's proper action or just
registration.
(c) Attach a line, wire, or pipe to a line, wire, pipe, or
main belonging to a water, steam, electric, or gas company, or
propane gas dealer or distributor. This subdivision does not apply
to the use of a ground wire to ground an electrical system.
(d) Willfully or fraudulently interfere with a pressure
regulator device on a propane gas tank or incorporated into a
propane gas system.
(e) Use or burn or cause to be used or burned any water,
steam, electric current, gas, or propane gas supplied by a water,
steam, electric, or gas company, or propane gas dealer or
distributor, without the written consent of the company or the
propane gas dealer or distributor, or the authorized agent or
officer of the company or the propane gas dealer or distributor,
unless the water, steam, electric current, gas, or propane gas
passes through a meter or is measured by a meter set by the company
or the propane gas dealer or distributor; fraudulently use the
water, steam, electric current, gas, or propane gas, or
fraudulently waste the water, steam, electric current, gas, or
propane gas supplied by a water, steam, electric, or gas company,
or propane gas dealer or distributor.
(2) A person who violates subsection (1) is guilty of a crime
or responsible for a state civil infraction as follows:
(a) The person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the value of the
water, steam, electric current, gas, or propane gas used, burned,
or wasted, or the damage caused, as a result of the violation, is
not more than $500.00.
(b) A person who violates subsection (1) The person is guilty
of a felony if the value of the water, steam, electric current,
gas, or propane gas used, burned, or wasted, or the damage caused,
as a result of the violation, is more than $500.00.
(c) A person who violates subsection (1) by restoring water
service to his or her lawfully occupied residence after a water
service shutoff to the residence due to an inability to pay for
water and sewer service, provided that no backflow prevention
device is damaged, bypassed, or rendered inoperable by the
restoration, is guilty of a misdemeanor or responsible for a state
civil infraction as follows:
(i) For a first offense, the person is responsible for a state
civil infraction and may be ordered to perform not more than 100
hours of community service.
(ii) For a second offense, the person is responsible for a
state civil infraction and may be fined not more than $500.00.
(iii) For a third or subsequent offense, the person is guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.
(3) A criminal prosecution under this section shall must not
in any way impair the right of the company or the propane gas
dealer or distributor to full compensation in damages by civil
action.
(4) The provisions of this This section shall extend and apply
applies to all offenses against all water, steam, electric, or gas
companies, or propane gas dealers or distributors, and boards or
municipalities owning or operating plants for producing,
manufacturing, furnishing, transmitting, or conducting water,
steam, electricity, or gas, either natural, liquefied, or
artificial.
(5) A person who attaches any line, wire, or pipe or any other
device or process to any line, wire, or pipe of a water, steam,
electric, or gas company, or propane gas dealer or distributor
which interferes with the proper operation and just registration of
a meter within the meaning of this section, or who interferes with
a pressure regulator device on a propane gas tank or incorporated
into a propane gas system, is presumed to do so with intent to
avoid, or to enable another to avoid, payment for the service
involved.
(6) In all prosecutions under this section, proof that the
defendant, other than a lessor, had control of or occupied the
premises where the offense was committed, or received the benefit
of the water, steam, electric current, gas, or propane gas used or
consumed, shall be is prima facie evidence of a violation of this
section.
Sec. 383a. (1) A person, without lawful authority, shall not
willfully cut, break, obstruct, injure, destroy, tamper with or
manipulate, deface, or steal any machinery, tools, equipment,
telephone line or post, telegraph line or post, telecommunication
line, tower, or post, electric line, post, tower or supporting
structures, electric wire, insulator, switch, or signal, natural
gas pipeline, water pipeline, steam heat pipeline or the valves or
other appliances or equipment appertaining to or used in connection
with those lines, or any other appliance or component of the
electric, telecommunication, water, or natural gas infrastructure
that is the property of a utility. A Except as provided in
subsection (2), a person who violates this section is guilty of a
felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a
fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(2) A person who violates subsection (1) by restoring water
service to his or her lawfully occupied residence after a water
service shutoff to the residence due to an inability to pay for
water and sewer service, provided that no backflow prevention
device is damaged, bypassed, or rendered inoperable by the
restoration, is guilty of a misdemeanor or responsible for a state
civil infraction as follows:
(a) For a first offense, the person is responsible for a state
civil infraction and may be ordered to perform not more than 100
hours of community service.
(b) For a second offense, the person is responsible for a
state civil infraction and may be fined not more than $500.00.
(c) For a third or subsequent offense, the person is guilty of
a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.
(3) As used in this section, "utility" includes any pipeline,
gas, electric, heat, water, oil, sewer, telephone, telegraph,
telecommunication, radio, railway, railroad, airplane,
transportation, communication or other system, whether or not
publicly owned, that is operated for the public use.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.