Regulon — MI-SB-0760 · MI SB 760 (LEAD for Kids Act)

2025-12-17 introduced Introduced By Senator Dayna Polehanki

2025-12-17 committee referral Referred To Committee On Finance, Insurance, And Consumer Protection

2026-03-25 committee passage Reported Favorably Without Amendment 3/24/2026

2026-03-25 committee referral Referred To Committee Of The Whole

2026-03-25 chamber passage Substitute (s-1) Concurred In

2026-03-25 chamber passage Placed On Order Of Third Reading With Substitute (s-1)

2026-03-25 Rules Suspended For Immediate Consideration Rules Suspended For Immediate Consideration

2026-03-25 Reported By Committee Of The Whole Favorably With Substitute (s-1) Reported By Committee Of The Whole Favorably With Substitute (s-1)

2026-03-25 Rules Suspended Rules Suspended

2026-03-25 Placed On Immediate Passage Placed On Immediate Passage

2026-04-29 Passed Roll Call # 66 Yeas 20 Nays 17 Excused 0 Not Voting 0 Passed Roll Call # 66 Yeas 20 Nays 17 Excused 0 Not Voting 0

2026-04-29 Received On 04/29/2026 Received On 04/29/2026

2026-04-29 Read A First Time Read A First Time

2026-04-29 Referred To Committee On Communications And Technology Referred To Committee On Communications And Technology

Summary

Regulates operators of companion chatbots with respect to minor users in Michigan. Operators may not make companion chatbots available to covered minors unless the chatbot is not foreseeably capable of encouraging self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, drug or alcohol use, disordered eating, offering unsupervised mental health therapy, encouraging illegal activity, engaging in sexually explicit interactions, prioritizing validation over safety, or optimizing engagement over safety guardrails. Initially the obligations apply when operators have actual knowledge a user is a minor; beginning January 1, 2027, the actual knowledge requirement is removed. Enforcement is through attorney general civil actions ($25,000 per violation) and a private right of action for covered minors (or parents/guardians) who suffer actual harm, with actual damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees available.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

Attorney general may bring a civil action for violations. A covered minor who suffers actual harm, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that covered minor, may bring a civil action against an operator. Private plaintiffs must demonstrate actual harm. No cure period or safe harbor is specified.

Penalties

Attorney general enforcement: civil fine of $25,000 per violation, injunctive or declaratory relief, and reasonable attorney fees. Private right of action (covered minor or parent/guardian): actual damages, punitive damages, reasonable attorney fees and costs, injunctive or declaratory relief, and any other relief the court considers appropriate. Private plaintiffs must show actual harm; the $25,000 per-violation fine is available only to the attorney general.

Who Is Covered

"Operator" means a person that makes a companion chatbot available to users.

What Is Covered

"Companion chatbot" means, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (d), a generative artificial intelligence system with natural language interface that simulates a sustained humanlike relationship with a user by doing all of the following: (i) Retaining information on prior interactions or user sessions and user preferences to personalize the interaction and facilitate ongoing engagement with the companion chatbot. (ii) Asking unprompted or unsolicited emotion-based questions that go beyond a direct response to a user prompt. (iii) Sustaining an ongoing dialogue concerning matters personal to the user.

Companion chatbot does not include any of the following: (i) Any system used by a business entity solely for customer service or to strictly provide users with information about available commercial services or products provided by that entity, customer service account information, or other information strictly related to its customer service. (ii) Any system that is solely designed and marketed for providing efficiency improvements or research or technical assistance. (iii) Any system used by a business entity solely for internal purposes or employee productivity.

Compliance Obligations 6 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

S-02 Prohibited Conduct & Output Restrictions · S-02.7 · Deployer · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 5(1)(a)

Plain Language

Operators may not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor unless the chatbot is not foreseeably capable of encouraging the minor to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, drug or alcohol consumption, or disordered eating. The standard is foreseeability — the chatbot must not be foreseeably capable of producing these outputs, not merely that it has not yet done so. Initially this applies only when the operator has actual knowledge the user is a minor; beginning January 1, 2027, the actual knowledge requirement is eliminated (see Sec. 5(2)).

Statutory Text

An operator shall not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor unless the companion chatbot is not foreseeably capable of any of the following: (a) Encouraging the covered minor to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, consumption of drugs or alcohol, or disordered eating.

HC-02 AI in Licensed Professional Practice Restrictions · HC-02.2 HC-02.3 · Deployer · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 5(1)(b)

Plain Language

Operators may not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor if the chatbot is foreseeably capable of offering mental health therapy without direct supervision by a licensed or credentialed professional, or of discouraging the minor from seeking help from a qualified professional or parent/guardian. This effectively prohibits unsupervised AI therapy for minors and ensures chatbots do not become a barrier to professional care. The actual knowledge requirement is removed beginning January 1, 2027.

Statutory Text

An operator shall not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor unless the companion chatbot is not foreseeably capable of any of the following: (b) Offering mental health therapy to the covered minor without the direct supervision of a licensed or credentialed professional, or discouraging the covered minor from seeking help from a qualified professional or a parent or guardian.

S-02 Prohibited Conduct & Output Restrictions · S-02.6 · Deployer · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 5(1)(c)-(d)

Plain Language

Operators may not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor if the chatbot is foreseeably capable of: encouraging the minor to harm others or participate in illegal activity (including creation of child sexual abuse material), or engaging in erotic or sexually explicit interactions with the minor. These are absolute prohibitions — the chatbot must not be foreseeably capable of these outputs when interacting with a covered minor. The actual knowledge requirement for minor status is removed beginning January 1, 2027.

Statutory Text

An operator shall not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor unless the companion chatbot is not foreseeably capable of any of the following: (c) Encouraging the covered minor to harm others or participate in illegal activity, including, but not limited to, the creation of covered minor sexual abuse materials. (d) Engaging in erotic or sexually explicit interactions with the covered minor.

CP-01 Deceptive & Manipulative AI Conduct · CP-01.1 · Deployer · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 5(1)(e)-(f)

Plain Language

Operators may not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor if the chatbot is foreseeably capable of prioritizing validation of the user's beliefs, preferences, or desires over factual accuracy or the minor's safety, or of optimizing engagement in a way that overrides any of the required safety guardrails (self-harm, therapy, illegal activity, sexually explicit content, and factual accuracy/safety). Subdivision (f) functions as a meta-prohibition ensuring that engagement optimization can never supersede safety obligations. Together, these provisions prohibit manipulative or sycophantic design that sacrifices minor safety for engagement metrics.

Statutory Text

An operator shall not make a companion chatbot available to a covered minor unless the companion chatbot is not foreseeably capable of any of the following: (e) Prioritizing validation of the user's beliefs, preferences, or desires over factual accuracy or the covered minor's safety. (f) Optimizing engagement in a manner that supersedes the companion chatbot's required safety guardrails described in subdivisions (a) to (e).

Other · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 5(2)

Plain Language

Beginning January 1, 2027, the actual knowledge requirement is eliminated. All Section 5 safety obligations that previously applied only when the operator had actual knowledge a user was a minor will apply regardless of whether the operator knows or suspects the user is a minor. This effectively converts the obligations from a knowledge-triggered standard to a universal standard — operators must ensure their companion chatbots are not foreseeably capable of any of the prohibited conduct for any user, not just known minors. This creates no new independent obligation but substantially broadens the scope of existing ones.

Statutory Text

Beginning on January 1, 2027, an operator does not have to have actual knowledge that a user is a minor.

Other · ChatbotMinors

Sec. 7(1)-(2)

Plain Language

This provision establishes the two enforcement pathways for the act: (1) the attorney general may bring civil actions seeking $25,000 per violation, injunctive/declaratory relief, and attorney fees; and (2) covered minors who suffer actual harm (or parents/guardians on their behalf) may sue for actual damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, injunctive/declaratory relief, and any other appropriate relief. This creates no new compliance obligation — it specifies consequences for violating the substantive prohibitions in Section 5.

Statutory Text

(1) If an operator violates this act, the attorney general may bring a civil action seeking 1 or more of the following: (a) A civil fine of $25,000.00 per violation. (b) Injunctive or declaratory relief. (c) Reasonable attorney fees. (2) A covered minor who suffers actual harm as a result of a violation of this act, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that covered minor, may bring a civil action against an operator that violates this act to recover 1 or more of the following: (a) Actual damages. (b) Punitive damages. (c) Reasonable attorney fees and costs. (d) Injunctive or declaratory relief. (e) Any other relief the court considers appropriate.