LANSING, MI -- Drive-by shooters would face stiffer penalties whether or not they injure anyone under legislation working its way toward the desk of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

The Michigan House on Tuesday approved bipartisan bills that would set a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for anyone convicted of a drive-by that endangers the safety of another individual or firing into a potentially occupied building.

Under current law, intentionally discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, snowmobile or off-road vehicle carries a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison and/or a $2,000 fine. So does shooting at an occupied building.

The new bills, unanimously approved by the Senate in October and passed by the House 107-1 this week, would levy even longer sentences if those shootings result in physical injury for a victim (15 years/$15,000) or serious impairment of a body function (20 years/$25,000). A deadly drive-by could result in a life sentence.

Drive-by shooters can currently be charged with other crimes, including murder, but prosecutors have said it can be difficult to prove intent when a perpetrator fires at a house rather than an individual.

"The legislation changes that," Rob Moran of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said in committee testimony. "All we have to prove is someone had the intent to pull the trigger. The consequence of that is that it will be easier for us to try these cases."

In 2012, 24 people were sentenced for firing from a motor vehicle and 76 were sentenced for firing at an occupied structure, according to the House Fiscal Agency, which noted that longer prison terms could increase correctional costs.

Senate Bills 582 and 583, sponsored by Sens. Jim Marleau, R-Lake Orion, and Jim Ananich, D-Flint, are headed back to the upper chamber for concurrence, enrollment and presentation to the governor.

Also Tuesday, the House approved two bills that would bring "drugged driving" laws more in line with those already established for drunk driving.

Motorists who fail or refuse a chemical test for drugged driving could have their license confiscated and be issued a temporary permit pending conviction. The motorists would receive a conditional bond and their information would be put in a database so police could quickly identify repeat drugged drivers.

“Drugged drivers are just as dangerous as drunken drivers, but under current law motorists who are high on drugs are able to keep driving with multiple offenses,” sponsoring Rep. Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway Township, said in a statement. “We’ve approved a common-sense reform that helps protect all motorists by taking these repeat offenders off the streets.”

A third bill left behind in committee would have allowed authorities to conduct roadside mouth swabs to test saliva for the presence of controlled substances, including marijuana, heroin, meth and certain prescription medications.

Civil rights groups and medical marijuana advocates voiced strong opposition to the saliva testing proposal, questioning the accuracy of the technology and arguing that the lingering presence of some drugs should not be conflated with intoxication.

Lauwers proposed an amended version of the bill that would have limited roadside saliva testing to a series of pilot projects, but the House Judiciary Committee did not vote on the measure when it advanced others to the floor last month.

House Bills 5383 and 5385 now head to the Senate for consideration.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter

