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SB 1060

Vehicles: registration plates; certain configurations of personalized license plates; prohibit. Amends sec. 803b of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.803b).

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Stephanie Chang and 1 co-sponsor

The bill restricts personalized license plates to avoid offensive, explicit, illegal, or hate-related content and ensures plates don’t conflict with the regular numbering system.

referred to Committee on Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure
#vehicles:registrationplates
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 1060

SB 1060 — Vehicles: Personalized Registration Plates (MCL 257.803b) — Summary

Status: Introduced (Feb 3, 2025); referred to Committee on Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure
Subject: Vehicles — registration plates; restrictions on certain personalized plate configurations
Statute amended: Section 803b of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.803b)

Main purpose

To codify limits on the letters/numbers combinations allowed on personalized (and certain special-organization) vehicle registration plates by prohibiting configurations that are offensive, sexually explicit, promote illicit activity, impede law enforcement identification, or otherwise conflict with the regular plate numbering system.

Key provisions / changes

  • Adds explicit statutory prohibitions on personalized plate configurations. A personalized plate must not:
    • Conflict with the regular license plate numbering system.
    • Carry a profane or obscene connotation or be a swear word (or depiction of one).
    • Be sexually explicit or graphic, excretory-related, or used to describe intimate body parts/genitals.
    • Reference alcohol, alcohol use, drugs, drug culture, or drug use.
    • Describe an illegal activity or illegal substance.
    • Substantially interfere with law‑enforcement plate identification.
    • Disparage, promote, or condone hate or violence directed at any business, group, or person.
    • Be a foreign word that is substantially similar to any of the prohibited configurations above.
  • Retains existing administrative mechanics for personalized plates:
    • Applicants submit through Secretary of State per section 217.
    • Fees: original application service fee structure (as in bill text: $8 for first month + $2 per additional month of registration period) and renewal service fee ($15) in addition to regular registration fees; option for duplicate plate with an extra $5 fee.
    • Temporary permit may be issued (no fee) for up to 60 days while a personalized plate is processed.
    • Secretary of State may issue tabs for expiration; sequences are not reassigned while in active use.
  • Tie-bar / contingency: The amendatory act includes an enacting provision that the act does not take effect unless companion Senate Bill 1061 is enacted.

Who is affected

  • Individuals who apply for or hold personalized license plates in Michigan.
  • Secretary of State (responsible for review, issuance, denial, fee collection and plate sequence management).
  • Law enforcement (plate-identification protections intended to assist enforcement).
  • Organizations that obtain special-organization plates (subject to same content restrictions where applicable).

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Nonpartisan legislative analysis (Senate Fiscal Agency) indicates no fiscal impact on state or local government.
  • Implementation primarily affects review/approval practices of the Secretary of State; enforcement is administrative (denial/refusal to issue).

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced 02/03/2025 and referred to the Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee.
  • The bill is tie-barred to SB 1061 and includes an enactment condition tied to that companion bill; it would take effect upon becoming law (subject to the tie-bar condition).
  • If enacted, the Secretary of State would apply the statutory prohibitions when reviewing personalized plate requests.

Prepared to expand on potential legal, administrative, or enforcement implications (e.g., free-speech or procedural challenges, impacts on SOS review workload) if you’d like additional analysis.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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