Bill Text: MI SB1131 | 2025-2026 | 103rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Law enforcement: other; guidelines for use of registration plate reader systems; provide for. Creates new act.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-07-29 - Referred To Committee On Civil Rights, Judiciary, And Public Safety [SB1131 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2025-SB1131-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 1131
A bill to regulate the use of automatic license plate reader systems by state and local governmental entities; to regulate the use of captured license plate data; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental entities; and to provide for remedies.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
(a) "Alert data" means data held by the secretary of state, state or federal criminal or missing persons databases, and any license plate number manually entered into the automatic license plate reader system by a law enforcement officer who determined that the vehicle or an individual associated with the license plate number is relevant and material to an ongoing criminal or missing persons investigation.
(b) "Automatic license plate reader system" means a system of 1 or more mobile or fixed automated high-speed cameras used in combination with computer algorithms to convert images of license plates into computer-readable data.
(c) "Captured plate data" means GPS coordinates, dates and times, photographs, license plate numbers, and any other data captured by or derived from any automatic license plate reader system.
(d) "Governmental entity" means a department, agency, or political subdivision of this state, or an individual acting for or on behalf of a department, agency, or political subdivision of this state.
(e) "Secured area" means an enclosed area to which access is limited and not open to the public and entry is obtainable through specific access control points only.
Sec. 3. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a governmental entity shall not use an automatic license plate reader system.
(2) A governmental entity may use an automatic license plate reader system only for 1 or more of the following purposes:
(a) For comparing captured plate data with alert data to identify a vehicle that is any of the following:
(i) Associated with outstanding parking or traffic violations.
(ii) Uninsured or violating any vehicle insurance requirements.
(iii) Unregistered or violating any vehicle registration requirements.
(iv) Registered to an individual for whom there is an outstanding felony warrant.
(v) Associated with a missing individual.
(vi) Reported as stolen.
(vii) Relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation.
(b) By parking enforcement entities for regulating the use of parking facilities.
(c) For controlling access to secured areas.
(d) For electronic toll collection.
(3) If a governmental entity uses an automatic license plate reader system under subsection (2) to collect or attempt to collect a fine, fee, or any other form of payment, that governmental entity shall not intentionally or inadvertently target enforcement toward or disproportionately collect fines, fees, or other forms of payment from a group of individuals based on race, ethnicity, or income level in a manner exceeding that group of individuals' proportion of the overall population within the governmental entity's jurisdiction.
Sec. 5. (1) Captured plate data obtained for a purpose described in section 3(2) must not be used or shared for any other purpose and must not be retained except for any of the following reasons:
(a) As evidence furthering a purpose described in section 3(2).
(b) Pursuant to a preservation request under section 7(1).
(c) Pursuant to a disclosure order under section 7(3).
(d) Pursuant to a warrant.
(e) As part of an ongoing investigation if captured plate data are confirmed as matching alert data and are destroyed at the conclusion of either of the following:
(i) An investigation that does not result in any criminal charges being filed.
(ii) Any criminal action undertaken in the matter involving the captured plate data, including the exhaustion or lapse of any appeal rights.
(2) A law enforcement officer of a governmental entity that uses an automatic license plate reader system under section 3(2)(a) may manually enter license plate numbers into the automatic license plate reader system if that law enforcement officer determines that the vehicle or an individual associated with the license plate number is relevant and material to an ongoing criminal or missing persons investigation. The law enforcement officer must document in the automatic license plate reader system the reason for manually entering the license plate number.
Sec. 7. (1) An operator of an automatic license plate reader system, on receiving a preservation request from a governmental entity or a defendant in a criminal case, shall take all necessary steps to preserve captured plate data in the operator's possession for not less than 14 days after the preservation request is received.
(2) A preservation request described in subsection (1) must contain a written sworn statement describing both of the following:
(a) Each camera for which captured plate data must be preserved or the license plate number for which captured plate data must be preserved.
(b) The date and time for which captured plate data must be preserved.
(3) A governmental entity or defendant in a criminal case may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to order the operator of an automatic license plate reader system to disclose captured plate data. The court shall order the disclosure of captured plate data if presented with facts showing reasonable grounds to believe the captured plate data are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal or missing persons investigation or a criminal prosecution or defense.
(4) Captured plate data preserved under subsection (1) must be destroyed if the application for an order under subsection (3) is denied or 14 days after the preservation request is received, whichever is later.
(5) A governmental entity may obtain, receive, or use privately held captured plate data only pursuant to a warrant or under subsection (1) and only if the private automatic license plate reader system retains captured plate data for 14 days or less.
Sec. 9. A governmental entity that uses an automatic license plate reader system under this act shall do all of the following:
(a) Adopt a policy governing the use of the automatic license plate reader system and conspicuously post the policy on the governmental entity's website.
(b) Adopt a privacy policy to ensure that captured plate data are not shared in violation of this act or any other law and conspicuously post the privacy policy on the governmental entity's website. The privacy policy must do both of the following:
(i) Subject to section 5(1), set a maximum amount of time that captured plate data can be stored by the governmental entity.
(ii) Provide for the automatic deletion of captured plate data after the maximum amount of time described in subparagraph (i).
(c) Submit a quarterly report on the governmental entity's automatic license plate reader system practices and usage to the state or local body that governs the governmental entity. The report must also be conspicuously posted on the governmental entity's website. The report must include all of the following:
(i) The number of license plates scanned.
(ii) A list of the alert data against which captured plate data were checked, and the number of confirmed matches and the number of matches that upon further investigation did not correlate to any alert data.
(iii) The number of alert data matches that resulted in arrest and prosecution.
(iv) The number of preservation requests received under section 7(1).
(v) The number of preservation requests issued under section 7(1), broken down by the number of preservation requests issued to governmental entities and operators of private automatic license plate reader systems.
(vi) The number of disclosure orders received under section 7(3).
(vii) The number of disclosure orders applied for under section 7(3), broken down into the following categories:
(A) The number of applications for disclosure orders to governmental entities that were denied.
(B) The number of disclosure orders to governmental entities resulting in arrest and prosecution.
(C) The number of applications for disclosure orders to operators of private automatic license plate reader systems that were denied.
(D) The number of orders for disclosure to operators of private automatic license plate reader systems resulting in arrest and prosecution.
(viii) Data adequate to ascertain whether the governmental entity's use of an automatic license plate reader system to collect fines, fees, and other payments complied with section 3(3).
(ix) The number of manually entered license plate numbers under section 5(3), broken down by the reason justifying the entry, and the number of confirmed alert data matches and the number of manually entered license plate numbers that on further investigation did not correlate to any alert data.
(x) Any changes in policy that affect privacy concerns.
(d) Adopt storage security requirements that protect the captured plate data from unauthorized access.
Sec. 11. Captured plate data and evidence derived from captured plate data may not be used as evidence in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding before any court, grand jury, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or other authority of this state or a political subdivision of this state if the disclosure of that captured plate data would violate this act.
Sec. 13. A person aggrieved by a violation of this act may bring an action against the person that violated this act to recover both of the following:
(a) Actual damages, including all economic or noneconomic damages, or $1,000.00, whichever is greater.
(b) Reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
Sec. 15. (1) Captured plate data are not subject to disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, and may be disclosed only to the registered owner of the vehicle the captured plate data are associated with or with the registered owner's prior written consent.
(2) On the presentation to an appropriate governmental entity of a valid, outstanding protection order protecting the driver of a vehicle jointly registered with or registered solely in the name of the individual against whom the protection order was issued, captured plate data may not be disclosed except pursuant to a disclosure order under section 7(3) or as the result of matching with alert data under section 3(2).
