HB 5716 — Summary: Prohibit required removal of religious head coverings for police booking photographs
Status and key dates
- Bill: House Bill 5716 (Substitute H-2)
- Sponsor: Rep. Alabas A. Farhat
- Statutory change: Adds section 25c to Chapter IV of the Code of Criminal Procedure (1927 PA 175; proposed MCL 764.25c)
- House action: Passed the House (H-2 adopted) on December 13, 2024 (roll call 56–0) and passed with immediate effect; transmitted December 13, 2024.
- Current referrals: Committee on Government Operations (12/18/24); later referred to Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security (1/21/25).
- Fiscal note: No fiscal impact to state or local government (House Fiscal Agency).
Purpose / intent
- To protect the religious exercise and privacy of arrested individuals by limiting when law enforcement may require removal of religious head coverings for searches and booking photographs, while preserving safety-based exceptions.
Major provisions
- Accommodation request: An arrested person wearing religious garb that covers hair/head/face/ears/neck who requests a religious accommodation must be accommodated as described, subject to safety exceptions.
- Same-sex officer/staff: Law enforcement must make all reasonable efforts to have a law enforcement officer or staff member of the same sex perform searches incident to arrest and take booking photographs.
- Privacy during removal: If removal of the religious covering would violate beliefs in a nonprivate location, photographs must be taken by a same-sex officer/staff member in a location where only that person may see the arrestee; removal (when required) must be done in as private a setting as practical and steps must be taken to prevent presence of opposite-sex persons.
- Booking photograph rules:
- If covering hair only (not face): take front and profile photos with the religious garb on.
- If covering face and hair: take front/profile photos with the garb on, and front/profile photos after removing only the face-covering (hair/head covering remains).
- Officers may take additional photos of identifying marks not visible with garb on.
- County-jail exception: if felony arrest, lodging in county jail, and county sheriff has a written policy, full-exposure photos (face, hair, ears exposed) may be taken.
- Confidentiality: Any photographs that show the individual without some or all religious garb are confidential and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (1976 PA 442).
- Replacement garb: If removal was required and the person is not released immediately, the agency must provide replacement religious garb that covers hair and is designed so it cannot be used for self-harm; persons released may retain their own garb while in custody if safe to do so.
- Noncompliant photos must be destroyed and retaken in compliance with the section.
- Definitions: Clarifies “law enforcement officer,” “law enforcement staff member,” and “local corrections officer.”
Who is affected
- Arrested individuals who wear religious head coverings (examples listed in the bill: hijab, niqab, turban, chador, veil, yarmulke/kippah, kapp, spodik, dastar).
- Law enforcement agencies, officers, corrections staff, and county sheriff booking procedures.
- Records custodians (FOIA handling of photographs).
Implementation/operational impacts
- Agencies may need written policies, staff training, procedures for same-sex staffing or rapid availability, private spaces for removal, and stock of replacement religious garb that meets safety rules.
- Committee testimony in support included Dearborn Police Department and Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.
Effective date
- The House gave the bill immediate effect when it passed; final effective date would depend on further legislative action and enactment into law.
