LANSING — In the wake of the announcement of potentially $75 million in federal funding for police body cameras, the Michigan lawmaker who proposed requiring all officers to wear cameras said he'd rather see the states do their own funding.

On Monday afternoon, the White House announced President Barack Obama would ask Congress to approve a $263 million funding package — $75 million of which would go toward buying 50,000 body cameras for the nation’s cops, and the remainder going toward training officers.

The proposals were a response to protests across the country following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and the subsequent decision of a grand jury to not indict Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed the unarmed teenager.

State Rep. Tom McMilllin, R-Rochester Hills, said Monday he was glad Obama and White House officials agreed that having body cameras for police is a good idea. But, he’d rather see the states themselves pay for their own purchases.

“Frankly, the feds have put me and my kids in enough debt, I wouldn’t want them adding to it,” McMillin said. “Them providing body cameras to state and local police officers in Michigan isn’t a proper role of the federal government, in my opinion. We could figure out how to pay for it here in Michigan.”

McMillin introduced a bill last month that would require all police officers in Michigan to wear body cameras.

Republican State Rep. Tom McMillin.

House Bill 5970 would mean all police officers in the state who carry a firearm would also be required to wear a body video camera. The camera could be turned off during officers' personal time, such as when they're in the restroom or talking with family members.

According to the legislation, videos would be kept for three years for incidents where an arrest was made, force was used, a complaint was filed against and officer or if the person making contact with police asked that the video be retained. In all other instances, the video could be deleted after two weeks.

The funding for the bill would come from the Michigan State Police’s budget, according to the legislation.

“I’m glad the feds are adding to the idea that having body cameras is a good idea,” McMillin said. “But, I don’t think it’s a proper role for the feds and there will likely be strings attached and perhaps privacy/database issues.”

Saginaw Township Sgt. John Sadowski, president of the Michigan lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, said last month he was concerned about the costs to local departments that would come along with body cameras. He said police departments would have to pay for data storage, which could rise to unmanageable costs.

Michigan State Police spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said Monday the costs of potentially outfitting every officer in the state with cameras needs to be explored.

“The Michigan State Police would not be supportive of funding the purchase of body cameras for other police departments out of our existing general fund budget,” Brown said, “due to the impact it would have on MSP programs.”

State police officials have not had the chance to review Obama’s proposal, Brown said.

Some Michigan police departments already use body cameras, have tested them or plan to use them in the future. Police in Detroit and Kalamazoo are testing body cameras, as has the Michigan State Police. The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office announced last month that their deputies would wear cameras in 2015.

McMillin’s bill is under a time crunch — there are just three weeks remaining in the Legislature’s current session, the so-called “lame-duck” period. All bills that don’t become law by the end of the session, currently scheduled for Dec. 18, must start from scratch in 2015 after the next legislative session begins.

McMillin is also serving his final term in the Legislature. However, that doesn’t mean the idea of body cameras on police officers would leave Lansing with him; other state lawmakers have expressed interest in similar legislation. State Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, is a co-sponsor on McMillin’s bill and has also done his own research to potentially craft a bill for introduction in 2015.

The bill has been referred to the House Criminal Justice Committee, which currently does not have a meeting scheduled for this week.

Kyle Feldscher is the Capitol education and MSU reporter for MLive Media Group. Reach him via email at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter at @Kyle_Feldscher. Read more stories here.