A bill tightening the penalty for child abuse Thursday passed the House on a 122-0 vote and the Senate on a 58-0 vote. It is now on the way to Gov. Mark Dayton’s office.

The bill’s final hearing in each legislative body came after a joint Conference Committee reworded the proposed “demonstrable bodily harm” clause to hold a new, midterm tier separate from “substantial bodily harm.” The new tier is punishable by two years in prison and up to a $4,000 fine, in contrast with five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for “substantial” bodily harm. Both are felonies.

“It tightens the law and ensures future incidents like the case in Mower County can be charged and punished to more appropriately fit the crime, which was our main objective,” Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, said Wednesday. Poppe authored the bill.

The bill was spurred to life by the sentencing of Dexter parents Brian and Charity Miller last July. The parents were convicted of chaining their then 5-year-old son to his crib and withholding food and bathroom access from him and his 8-year-old brother. They could only be charged with a gross misdemeanor because of the need for “substantial” bodily harm.