Separate from the law enforcement database in MCL 28.728(1), the department of state police must also maintain a public internet website to implement MCL 28.730(2) and MCL 28.730(3).1 MCL 28.728(2). “The department shall make the public internet website available to the public by electronic, computerized, or other similar means accessible to the public.” MCL 28.728(7).
A.Information Required on the Public Internet Website
With the exception of the individuals described in MCL 28.728(4),2 all of the following information for each individual registered under the SORA must be contained in the public website:
•Legal name and any other names by which the individual is or has been known, including any aliases, nicknames, and ethnic or tribal names. MCL 28.728(2)(a).
•Date of birth. MCL 28.728(2)(b).
•Address of the individual’s residence. MCL 28.728(2)(c). If the individual does not have a residential address, the public internet website must identify the village, city, or township the individual uses in lieu of a residence. Id.
•Address of each of the individual’s employers. MCL 28.728(2)(d). If the individual works at a location or address that is different from the employer’s address, the public internet website must contain that address or location. Id.
•Address of the school the individual attends and address of any school the individual plans to attend at which he or she has been accepted as a student. MCL 28.728(2)(e).
•Description and license plate number of any vehicle owned or operated by the individual. MCL 28.728(2)(f).
•Brief summary of the individual’s conviction(s) for listed offenses without regard to when the conviction(s) occurred. MCL 28.728(2)(g).
•Complete description of the individual’s physical appearance. MCL 28.728(2)(h).
•Photograph of the individual as required by MCL 28.725a. MCL 28.728(2)(i). The department of state police must use a individual’s arrest photograph or department of corrections (DOC) photograph until the photograph required under MCL 28.725a is acquired and becomes available. Id.
•Language of the statutory provision that defines the offense requiring the individual’s registration. MCL 28.728(2)(j).
•Status of the individual’s registration. MCL 28.728(2)(k).
B.Information That Must Not Appear on the Public Internet Website
The following information must not be available on the public internet website:
•Identity of any victim(s) of the offense. MCL 28.728(3)(a).
•Individual’s Social Security number. MCL 28.728(3)(b).
•Arrest(s) not resulting in a conviction. MCL 28.728(3)(c).
•Numbers of any travel or immigration documents. MCL 28.728(3)(d).
•Individual’s classification as a tier I, tier II, or tier III offender. MCL 28.728(3)(e).
•Numbers of the individual’s driver’s license or state personal identification card. MCL 28.728(3)(f).
C.Individuals That Must Not Be Included on the Public Internet Website
The following individuals must not be included on the public internet website:
•“An individual registered solely because he or she had 1 or more dispositions for a listed offense entered under . . . MCL 712A.18, in a case that was not designated as a case in which the individual was to be tried in the same manner as an adult under . . . MCL 712A.2d.” MCL 28.728(4)(a).
•“An individual registered solely because he or she was the subject of an order of disposition or other adjudication in a juvenile matter in another state or country.” MCL 28.728(4)(b).
• An individual registered solely for a single tier I offense, with the exception of an individual convicted of any of the following:
•MCL 750.145c(4) (knowing possession of, search for, or access to, child sexually abusive material). MCL 28.728(4)(c)(i).
•MCL 750.335a(2)(b) (indecent exposure), if a victim is a minor. MCL 28.728(4)(c)(ii).
•MCL 750.349b (unlawful imprisonment), if the victim is a minor. MCL 28.728(4)(c)(iii).3
•MCL 750.539j (invasion of privacy), if a victim is a minor.MCL 28.728(4)(c)(iv).
•An offense substantially similar to one listed in MCL 28.728(4)(i)-(iv) under a law specifically described in 42 USC 16911,4 or under a law of any state, any country, or under tribal or military law. MCL 28.728(4)(c)(v).
D.Organization of Public Internet Website
“The compilation of individuals [on the public internet website] must be indexed alphabetically by village, city, township, and county, numerically by zip code area, and geographically as determined appropriate by the department.” MCL 28.728(5).
E.Availability of Information on Public Internet Website
A registering authority must make available for public inspection during regular business hours information from the public internet website listed in MCL 28.728(2) for the designated areas, in whole or in part, within the registering authority’s jurisdiction. MCL 28.730(2). The registering authority is not obligated to provide a member of the public with a copy of the information. Id. The registering authority must make the public internet website available to the public by electronic, computerized, or other accessible means. MCL 28.728(7). The website must be searchable “by name, village, city, township, and county designation, zip code, and geographical area” as well as by the name and campus location of an institution of higher education. MCL 28.728(6)-(7).
F.Updating the Public Internet Website
The public internet website must be updated by the department of state police with new registrations, deleted registrations, and changes of address, “at the same time those changes are made to the law enforcement database described in [MCL 28.728(1)].” MCL 28.728(6).
G.Notification of Changes in Specific Registrations to Subscribers Who Receive Such Notifications
Members of the public may subscribe to receive electronic or computerized notification of a change to the registration information of an individual appearing on the public internet website. MCL 28.730(3). The department of state police must notify a subscriber whenever a specific offender appearing on the public internet website initially registers under the SORA, or when the offender changes his or her registration to a location within the area or geographic radius designated by the subscriber. Id.
H.Removing Individuals from the Public Internet Website
“If the department determines that an individual has completed his or her registration period, including a registration period reduced by law under 2011 PA 18, or that he or she otherwise is no longer required to register under [the SORA], the department shall remove the individual’s registration information from . . . the public internet website within 7 days after making that determination.” MCL 28.728(9).
I.Violations Set Aside or Expunged
“If an individual required to be registered under [the SORA] presents an order to the department or the appropriate registering authority that the conviction or adjudication for which the individual is required to be registered under [the SORA] has been set aside under . . . MCL 780.621 to [MCL] 780.624, or has been otherwise expunged, his or her registration under [the SORA] must be discontinued. If this subsection applies, the department shall remove the individual from . . . the public internet website maintained under [MCL 28.728].”5 MCL 28.725(16).
“If a court determines that the public availability under [MCL 28.730] of any information concerning individuals registered under [the SORA] violates the constitution of the United States or this state, the department shall revise the public internet website described in [MCL 28.728(2)] so that it does not contain that information.” MCL 28.728(8).
1 MCL 28.730(2) requires a state police post, a local law enforcement agency, or a sheriff’s department to make the information on the public internet website available for public inspection during regular business hours.
2 MCL 28.728(4) lists individuals whose information must not be included on the public internet website. See Section 9.17(C) for a description of these individuals.
3 In People v Lymon, ___ Mich ___, ___ (2024), the Michigan Supreme Court “conclude[d] that the imposition of the [2021 Sexual Offenders Registration Act] on non-sexual offenders like defendant [who was convicted of unlawful imprisonment of a minor] constitutes cruel or unusual punishment under the Michigan Constitution.” The Lymon Court affirmed the Court of Appeals judgment that “offenders whose crimes lacked a sexual component are entitled to removal from the sex-offender registry.” Id. at ___. See also Section 3.15, Section 3.21, Section 3.25, and Section 9.1.
4 This federal provision was transferred and renumbered as 34 US 20911.
5 See Part IV for more information on setting aside or expunging convictions.