2009 House Bill 4349: Make felony to not report dead body

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Introduced by Rep. Richard LeBlanc (D) on February 19, 2009, to make it a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine not reporting the discovery of a dead body, if the discoverer has no reason to believe that it has already been reported.
- Referred to the House Judiciary Committee on February 19, 2009.
  - Reported in the House on June 10, 2009, without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill pass.
- Substitute offered by Rep. Justin Amash (R) on June 18, 2009, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that only authorizes criminal penalties if the failure to report a dead body is "with the purpose of hiding or concealing" the fact or cause of the death. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on June 18, 2009.
Passed 108 to 0 in the House on June 18, 2009.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
Received in the Senate on June 23, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 23, 2009.

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1) Re: 2009 House Bill 4349 (Make felony to not report dead body ) by amasaman on June 17, 2009

So, isn't that embezzling, or extortion, or some other fraudulent deception already covered by laws currently in existence? And wouldn't stashing her husband be evidence to prove the deceptive tactic of receiving unwarranted moneys? My guess is that the Prosecuting Attorney would drop the felony charge for not reporting a dead body in exchange for an admission of the fraud, which would be a felony in and of itself, wouldn't it?

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2) Re: 2009 House Bill 4349 (Make felony to not report dead body ) by UntaxMe on June 11, 2009

I saw the answer to this on an episode of "Law and Order" or some other equally vacuous piece of prime time propaganda the other night... a lady's husband dies of natural causes, so she throws him the freezer in order to keep collecting his Social Security and other benefits. It was all she had to live on, yadda...

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3) Re: 2009 House Bill 4349 (Make felony to not report dead body ) by coneyb on June 11, 2009

I'm trying to think of reasons for this bill, but keep coming up short... If someone wasn't involved with a homicide but still didn't report a body, this person could still be charged with obstruction of justice... or is that not a felony? Why do we need more felons? Fines must be bigger.

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