AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Lauren Carson and 9 co-sponsors

Requires UIA to keep fraud detection software continuously in use, with only short, documented maintenance allowed and immediate restoration after maintenance.

07/01/2025 Effective without Governor's signature

Summary — HB 5098 (Michigan)

Title: Employment security: administration; discontinuation of fraud detection software by the unemployment insurance agency; prohibit. (Amends 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.1–421.75) by adding sec. 32e.)

Primary purpose: To require the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) to keep its fraud detection software continuously in use, permitting temporary suspension only for limited, documented routine maintenance and requiring immediate restoration when maintenance is completed.

Key provisions

Adds section 32e to the Michigan Employment Security Act.

Prohibition on discontinuation: “The unemployment insurance agency shall not discontinue the use of its fraud detection software for any period of time, except as necessary to perform routine maintenance on the fraud detection software to ensure the fraud detection software functions properly.”

Maintenance limits and documentation: Any routine maintenance must be documented, limited in duration, and the fraud detection software must be “immediately restored for use” after maintenance is completed.

Definition: “Fraud detection software” is defined as any program, database, or software the UIA uses to evaluate claims for potential fraud.

Supersedes conflicting provisions (“Notwithstanding any other provision of this act”).

Who is affected

Primary: Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (operational requirements).

Secondary: Unemployment claimants, employers, and state taxpayers — through potential changes in fraud-detection continuity, claim processing, and fraud prevention outcomes.

Indirectly: IT vendors/contractors who maintain or upgrade the UIA’s fraud detection systems.

Potential impacts and considerations

Enforcement/operations: Imposes a near-continuous-availability requirement on UIA fraud tools; limits ability to take the system offline for non-routine work, extensive upgrades, or certain emergency interventions.

Administrative burden: Requires documentation and time limits for maintenance windows; may necessitate revised maintenance schedules, redundancy, or parallel systems to comply.

Fraud prevention: Aims to prevent gaps in automated fraud screening, potentially reducing successful fraudulent claims.

Technical/cybersecurity trade-offs: Continuous operation may complicate major updates, testing, or incident responses; agencies may need more robust rollback and failover strategies.

Cost: Possible increased costs for high-availability infrastructure, additional staff, or vendor support.

Legislative status and timeline (as recorded)

Filed: 2025-03-13 (initial filing record).

Committee activity: Referred to committee, public hearing and committee substitute considered April–May 2025; reported favorably as substituted and placed on General State Calendar (May 2025).

Document reproduced / introduced (reproduction date): 10/16/2025; introduced Oct. 16, 2025 by Rep. Jason Woolford and referred to Committee on Economic Competitiveness.

Companion bill: SB 2358.

This summary reflects the bill text adding section 32e and associated procedural entries; it does not evaluate constitutionality or predict final legislative outcomes.