Bill Text: MI HB4981 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Law enforcement; other; use of registration plate reader system; provide for under certain circumstances. Amends 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.1 - 257.923) by adding div. heading & secs. 751 & 752.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-09-18 - Printed Bill Filed 09/18/2013 [HB4981 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-HB4981-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4981
September 17, 2013, Introduced by Reps. Singh, Irwin, Zemke, Robinson, Kelly, McMillin, Dillon, Cochran, Durhal, Talabi, Switalski and Howrylak and referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
(MCL 257.1 to 257.923) by adding a division heading and sections
751 and 752.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
REGISTRATION PLATE READING DEVICES
Sec. 751. As used in section 752:
(a) "Law enforcement agency" means that term as defined in
section 1a of 1925 PA 289, MCL 28.241a.
(b) "Registration plate reading device" or "RPR" means a
device that satisfies all of the following:
(i) Is hand-held, stationary, or mounted to a vehicle.
(ii) Uses automated high-speed camera and optical character
recognition technology.
(iii) Passively reads a registration plate number,
instantaneously compares the registration plate number against a
list, sends an audible or visual alarm to the operator if the
registration plate number matches information on that list, and
stores a record of each registration plate number read by the
device for a prescribed period of time.
Sec. 752. (1) An RPR may only be used by a police officer as
provided in this section.
(2) The authority to obtain and issue an RPR, to administer a
documented training process for the operation of an RPR, and to
ensure compliance with federal, state, and other applicable
regulations is vested in the head of a law enforcement agency or
his or her designee. A law enforcement agency may only use an RPR
that has been approved for use by the head of the law enforcement
agency or his or her designee.
(3) A law enforcement agency shall maintain an RPR in
accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer of the RPR.
(4) Before using an RPR, the head of a law enforcement agency
shall attest to all of the following:
(a) The RPR meets all requirements of this section.
(b) The law enforcement agency has a policy in effect
governing the use of an RPR.
(c) The law enforcement agency has a documented training
process to train each police officer who will be using an RPR.
(5) A law enforcement agency shall ensure that the lists
against which the law enforcement agency is comparing the
registration plate numbers scanned by an RPR are kept current by
entering data into the RPR daily through either a hard link or a
wireless upload. If a police officer becomes aware that a new
bulletin is issued or a bulletin is canceled, he or she shall
manually change the list against which registration plate numbers
scanned by the RPR are being compared. A police officer may enter
into an RPR a partial registration plate number that has been
reported as a result of a serious crime to identify suspected
vehicles used in connection with that crime.
(6) The operation of an RPR and access to data collected by an
RPR is restricted to law enforcement agencies for official law
enforcement purposes only. A law enforcement agency shall use an
RPR only to scan, detect, and identify registration plate numbers
that appear on lists or broadcasts of 1 or more of the following:
(a) Stolen vehicles.
(b) Vehicles believed to be driven or occupied by wanted,
missing, or endangered individuals.
(c) Individuals who are in default for failure to make
required court appearances.
(d) Individuals for whom a criminal warrant is pending or in
effect.
(e) Individuals whose operator's licenses, driving privileges,
or vehicle registrations have been suspended or revoked.
(f) Individuals who are suspected of criminal or terrorist
acts, transportation of stolen items or contraband, or violations
of this act.
(g) Commercial trucking enforcement information.
(h) Criminal investigative surveillance for a specific case.
(i) Registration plate canvasses in homicides, shootings, or
other major crimes or incidents.
(7) A positive match between a registration plate number
scanned by an RPR and information on 1 or more of the lists or
broadcasts listed in subsection (6) constitutes reasonable
suspicion for a police officer to stop a vehicle and temporarily
detain the vehicle and its occupants to confirm or dispel the
information provided by the RPR.
(8) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a law
enforcement agency shall purge records of registration plates read
by an RPR from the system no later than 48 hours after the end of
the shift during which they were collected. A law enforcement
agency may retain a record of a registration plate until final
disposition of a case if an audible or visual alarm sent by an RPR
to the operator resulted in an arrest, a citation, protective
custody, or the identification of a vehicle that was the subject of
a missing person or wanted broadcast.
(9) A law enforcement agency may allow access to RPR records
for legitimate law enforcement investigative, prosecution, or audit
verification purposes. A law enforcement agency shall keep a record
of all inquiries for RPR records and shall maintain those records
in the same manner as the law enforcement agency maintains criminal
history records.
(10) To ensure compliance with this section or to investigate
complaints of misuse of RPR devices, the attorney general or his or
her designee, including a county prosecuting attorney or a police
officer acting at the request of the attorney general, may examine
and audit an RPR, a server used to store RPR data, or records
related to the use of an RPR maintained by a law enforcement
agency. The attorney general or his or her designee may seek an
injunction banning the use of an RPR by a law enforcement agency
found to have used an RPR in repeated violation of this section and
requiring the confiscation of an RPR if necessary to prevent
ongoing violations or deter future violations of this section.
