Whether the conviction for an attempt to possess less than 50 grams of cocaine constitutes a misdemeanor or felony for purposes of the reporting of the conviction to agencies or employers who request such information.

"ATTEMPT TO COMMIT CRIME--Any person who shall attempt to commit an offense prohibited by law, and in such attempt shall do any act towards the commission of such offense, but shall fail in the perpetration or shall be intercepted or prevented in the execution of the same, when no express provision is made by law for the punishment of such attempt, shall be punished as follows:

"3. If the offense so attempted to be committed is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term less than 5 years, or imprisonment in the county jail or by fine, the offender convicted of such attempt shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or reformatory not more than 2 years or in any county jail not more than 1 year or by a fine not to exceed 1,000 dollars; ...."

"(1) A person shall not knowingly or intentionally possess a controlled substance unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of the practitioner's professional practice, or except as otherwise authorized by this article.

"(2) A person who violates this section as to:

"(a) A controlled substance classified in schedule 1 or 2 which is either a narcotic drug or described in section 7214(a)(iv), and:

(iv) Which is in an amount of less than 50 grams of any mixture containing that substance is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years, or by a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both."

"The label placed upon an offense in the Penal Code is just as irrelevant in determining statutorily mandated post-conviction procedures in the Code of Criminal Procedure as it is in determining constitutionally mandated post-conviction procedures. The three post-conviction statutes at issue here, the habitual-offender statute, the probation statute, and the consecutive sentencing statute, all have the same general purpose: to enhance the punishment imposed upon those who have been found guilty of more serious crimes and who repeatedly engage in criminal acts. In order to achieve the Legislature's intended purpose in the Code of Criminal Procedure, we find that the Legislature meant exactly what it said: Offenses punishable by more than one year of imprisonment are 'felonies' for purposes of the habitual-offender, probation, and consecutive sentencing statutes. Because misdemeanors punishable by two years of imprisonment fall within the 'felony' definition, they may be considered felonies for purposes of these statutes."

"Defendants argue that this reading renders meaningless the 'misdemeanor' label found in the Penal Code, contrary to our responsibility to give effect to all words and provisions, if possible. However, the 'misdemeanor' label does have some consequences. The social stigma attached to a misdemeanor conviction is less than that which attaches to a felony conviction. We also note that our constitution disqualifies anyone who 'has within the preceding 20 years been convicted of a felony involving a breach of public trust' from service in the Legislature. Const 1963, art 4, Sec. 7. We suggest, without deciding here, that one convicted of a misdemeanor involving a breach of the public trust might not be disqualified from service. Thus, it cannot be said that our reading of the Code of Criminal Procedure renders the 'misdemeanor' designation in the Penal Code totally meaningless.

"Defendants also argue that our reading of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes redundant certain language in the habitual-offender statutes. Those statutes provide that one who is convicted of 'a felony, an attempt to commit a felony, or both,' and who subsequently commits another felony, is subject to sentence enhancement. MCL 769.10-769.12; MSA 28.1082-28.1084. (Emphasis added.) The Penal Code designates an attempt to commit an offense punishable by less than five years in the state prison, by imprisonment in the county jail, or by fine, a two-year misdemeanor. MCL 750.92(3); MSA 28.287(3). Defendants argue that if a two-year misdemeanor 'attempt' is by definition already a 'felony,' then the 'attempt to commit felonies' language in the habitual-offender statutes is redundant. See People v Reuther, supra, pp 357-358 (BRONSON, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).

"However, this minor redundancy does not persuade us that the Legislature intended to except two-year misdemeanors from the definition of 'felony' in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Other rules of statutory construction point persuasively toward the opposite conclusion. In addition, defendants have failed to recognize that the definitions in each code have full meaning for all the purposes of that code, but are not simply transferable to the other code. The reading advocated by defendants might render meaningless the Code of Criminal Procedure's clear definition of 'felony.' "