Sec. 8.

(1) Except as provided in this section and in section 10, personal information in a record maintained under this act shall not be disclosed, unless the person requesting the information furnishes proof of identity satisfactory to the secretary of state and certifies that the personal information requested will be used for a permissible purpose identified in this section or in section 10. Highly restricted personal information shall be used and disclosed only as expressly permitted in section 2 or in another applicable provision of law.

(2) Personal information in a record maintained under this act shall be disclosed by the secretary of state if required to carry out the purposes of a specified federal law. As used in this section, "specified federal law" means the automobile information disclosure act, 15 USC 1231 to 1233, the former motor vehicle information and cost savings act, Public Law 92-513, the former national traffic and motor vehicle safety act of 1966, Public Law 89-563, the anti-car theft act of 1992, Public Law 102-519, the clean air act, chapter 360, 69 Stat. 322, and all federal regulations promulgated to implement these federal laws.

(3) Personal information in a record maintained under this act may be disclosed by the secretary of state as follows:

(a) For use by a federal, state, or local governmental agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out the agency's functions, or by a private person or entity acting on behalf of a governmental agency in carrying out the agency's functions.

(b) For use in connection with matters of motor vehicle and driver safety or auto theft; motor vehicle emissions; motor vehicle product alterations, recalls, or advisories; performance monitoring of motor vehicles; motor vehicle market research activities, including survey research; and the removal of nonowner records from the original records of motor vehicle manufacturers.

(c) For use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business, including the agents, employees, and contractors of the business, but only to verify the accuracy of personal information submitted by an individual to the business or its agents, employees, or contractors, and if the information as so submitted is no longer correct, to obtain the correct information, for the sole purpose of preventing fraud by pursuing legal remedies against, or recovering on a debt against, the individual.

(d) For use in connection with a civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding in a federal, state, or local court or governmental agency or before a self-regulatory body, including use for service of process, investigation in anticipation of litigation, and the execution or enforcement of judgments and orders, or pursuant to an order of a federal, state, or local court, an administrative agency, or a self-regulatory body.

(e) For use in legitimate research activities and in preparing statistical reports for commercial, scholarly, or academic purposes by a bona fide research organization, if the personal information is not published, redisclosed, or used to contact individuals.

(f) For use by an insurer or insurance support organization, or by a self-insured entity, or its agents, employees, or contractors, in connection with claims investigating activity, antifraud activity, rating, or underwriting.

(g) For use in providing notice to the owner of an abandoned, towed, or impounded vehicle.

(h) For use either by a private detective or private investigator licensed under the private detective license act, 1965 PA 285, MCL 338.821 to 338.851, or by a private security guard agency or alarm system contractor licensed under the private security business and security alarm act, 1968 PA 330, MCL 338.1051 to 338.1083, only for a purpose permitted under this section.

(i) For use by an employer, or the employer's agent or insurer, to obtain or verify information relating either to the holder of a commercial driver license that is required under the commercial motor vehicle safety act of 1986, Public Law 99-570, or to the holder of a chauffeur's license that is required under chapter 3 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.301 to 257.329.

(j) For use by a car rental business, or its employees, agents, contractors, or service firms, for the purpose of making rental decisions.

(k) For use by a news medium in the preparation and dissemination of a report related in part or in whole to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety. "News medium" includes a newspaper, a magazine or periodical published at regular intervals, a news service, a broadcast network, a television station, a radio station, a cablecaster, or an entity employed by any of the foregoing.

(l) For any use by an individual requesting information pertaining to himself or herself or requesting in writing that the secretary of state provide information pertaining to himself or herself to the individual's designee. A request for disclosure to a designee, however, may be submitted only by the individual.

(4) Copies or images of source documents retained by the secretary of state under section 1 of this act and section 5 of the enhanced driver license and enhanced official state personal identification card act, MCL 28.305, may be used and disclosed for the purposes of subsection (3)(a) and (l).

History: Add. 1997, Act 99, Imd. Eff. Aug. 7, 1997 ;-- Am. 2008, Act 32, Imd. Eff. Mar. 13, 2008