SB 525 Michigan Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Aeronautics: unmanned aircraft systems; exceptions to prohibited use of an unmanned aircraft system; expand. Amends sec. 7 of 2016 PA 436 (MCL 259.307).

SB 525 limits when Michigan state agencies can use drones (unmanned aircraft systems) to inspect facilities they regulate, requiring facility owners' consent or specific circumstances. Exceptions include obtaining written consent from owners (with conditions about FAA compliance), using a warrant, addressing imminent safety threats, inspecting infrastructure like roads or telecom towers, or during declared emergencies. Agencies must mark state-owned drones and share collected data (videos, photos) with facility owners upon request. The law explicitly excludes law enforcement drone use during investigations.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Sep 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Sep 4, 2025 Last action Mar 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed by the Senate Substitute (S-1) · 2 edits
MINOR
The primary changes to Senate Bill 525 are technical and formatting in nature, involving the removal of redundant blank lines and the standardization of document headers and footers. No substantive policy changes, such as new definitions, funding amounts, or eligibility criteria, were identified in the provided text.
TECHNICAL

Removed multiple empty lines at the beginning of the document to clean up the layout.

Updated the document header and footer text, changing version identifiers from '3km4sv' to '0e1pgi' and removing internal tracking codes like '_SB525_APS_1'.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

360
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 38
Mar 11, 2026
D Democratic19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
4
Committee
5
Mar 11, 2026
Committee
referred to Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Introduced
received on 03/11/2026
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED ROLL CALL # 22 YEAS 35 NAYS 0 EXCUSED 2 NOT VOTING 0
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
SUBSTITUTE (S-1) CONCURRED IN
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
REPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
REPORTED FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 2/11/2026
upper
Sep 4, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
upper
Sep 4, 2025
Introduced
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR KEVIN HERTEL
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Kevin Hertel
Kevin Hertel
DDemocratic
MI
12