As you probably already know, Michigan has a handgun registration system where the Michigan State Police maintains a database of all registered handguns and their owners.
How it currently works is that before you purchase a pistol from a private individual you must first obtain a pistol purchase permit from your local police department or county sheriff, depending on your jurisdiction.
If you purchase your pistol from an FFL, then they will fill out a pistol license form.
Once you purchase the pistol, both the seller and the buyer would sign the three copies of the pistol license form. The seller would retain one copy, and give two copies to the buyer. The buyer would retain one copy, and turn in the last copy to their local police or sheriff department for registration with the Michigan State Police.
Once the bill that Whitless signed today goes into effect, the burden of turning in a copy of the pistol license to the local police shifts from the buyer to the seller.
I believe this was done because the MSU shooter Anthony McRae had legally purchased the handgun he used in his February 13 rampage on the Michigan State University campus, but he never turned in a copy of the pistol license to his local police as required. So now the legislature is making it the responsibility of the seller to turn in this paperwork.
More hastles for FFLs, and a bigger burden on private sellers.
As I understand it, it also adds long guns to that, though I’d like to be wrong on that.