On July 2, 2008, the Governor signed into law House Bill 4817, which then became Public Act 171 of 2008. The law amends the Michigan Vehicle Code. Under the law, a law enforcement agency or a local unit of government may authorize and use citizens other than police officers as volunteers to issue parking citations for a violation of the Code or a substantially local ordinance as follows:

In a space reserved for use by people with disabilities.

• In a space or in a manner that blocks access to a fire lane.
• In an access aisle or access lane next to a space designated for parking by people with disabilities.

The law also adds the following to the list:

• Parking on a sidewalk.
• Parking in front of a public or private driveway.
• Parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
• Parking on a crosswalk.
• Parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk or, if there is not a crosswalk, within 15 feet of the intersection of property lines at an intersection of highways.
• Parking at a place where an official sign prohibits stopping or parking.
• Parking in violation of an official sign restricting the time or manner of parking.

Under the law, a program would have to contain at least 40 hours of instruction in parking enforcement conducted by the law enforcement agency or the law enforcement agency for the local unit or, if it did not have a law enforcement agency, by the county sheriff.

Lastly, under the law, a law enforcement agency could not implement or administer a program that would allow volunteers to issue citations for any additional violations listed in the bill if the use of volunteers were prohibited under a collective bargaining agreement between that local unit of government and any of its law enforcement agencies.