LANSING, MI - Michigan residents are now legally able to "warm up" their unattended cars in their driveways because of a change in state law.

An administrative rule, which allowed for unattended running vehicles parked in private driveways to be ticketed, was rescinded as part of a bill that cleared the Michigan legislature. Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill into law last week.

Under the former law, motorists could be cited for leaving an unattended car idling in a driveway unless that vehicle was locked and equipped with a remote starting mechanism. The rule specified that "a person who has control or charge of a motor vehicle shall not allow the vehicle to stand unattended on any street or any other place without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, and removing and taking possession of the key," based on information from the House and Senate fiscal agencies.

The legislation kept in place the regulation against having an unattended vehicle idling on a private roadway or business parking lot.

Those who supported the change cited the common practice in the winter of motorists warming up their cars in their driveway on cold mornings.

Those who opposed the change, including some in law enforcement, mainly pointed to the potential for unattended, running cars to be targets of auto thieves.

Michigan's law against "warming up" an unattended car in a driveway grabbed headlines when a man in Roseville received a ticket for "warming up" his car in his driveway in January. A month later, the Muskegon police chief announced that his department would be cracking down on unattended vehicles idling in city driveways to help combat the possibility of the car being stolen.

The law was signed by Snyder on June 28 and filed with the Secretary of State's office. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Holly Hughes, R-Montague, passed the House on a 77-30 vote May 2 and passed the Senate on a 30-6 vote June 13.