Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
SECULAR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4690 as introduced Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Betsy Coffia http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Committee: Judiciary
Revised 8-15-23
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4690 would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a court that orders a
defendant to attend a court-ordered substance use disorder recovery program as part of a
sentence or deferred proceeding to ask on the record whether the defendant has an objection to
a religious element of that program. If the defendant objects to a religious element, the court
would have to identify a secular treatment program that the defendant confirms on the record
eliminates their religious objection. The court would have to allow the defendant to participate
in a secular treatment program online if one is not available locally.
Secular treatment program would mean a court-ordered substance use disorder
recovery program that does not ask the participants to engage in religious practices,
such as prayer or reliance on a god.
The bill would take effect 90 days after it is enacted.
Proposed MCL 769.3a
BACKGROUND:
Courts have the authority to add certain conditions to a criminal sentence or when a
sentence is deferred. For instance, if probation is ordered, conditions such as a curfew,
obtaining employment, or participation in an alcohol or drug treatment program may be
ordered. The same is true if a defendant’s sentence is deferred pending the outcome of
successful completion of certain conditions the court is authorized to order.
Although several national and local secular treatment programs exist to support recovery
from alcohol or drug addiction, the court order is generally taken to mean attendance in
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). While AA and NA are not
affiliated with any religion, both contain elements considered to be quasi-religious, such as
acknowledging and relying on a higher power.
Several court decisions at the state and federal appellate level have ruled that mandating
attendance at a treatment program that contains religious elements, such as AA and NA, as
a condition of parole or probation, or requiring it during incarceration as a condition for
certain privileges, is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the
United States Constitution.
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 2
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4690 would have no fiscal impact on the state or on local units of government.
Legislative Analyst: Susan Stutzky
Fiscal Analyst: Robin Risko
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency HB 4690 as introduced Page 2 of 2


Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 760.1, 777.69