The revamped financial disclosure legislation – requiring legislators, statewide executives and candidates for those offices to annually list off their assets and non-state revenue sources – is officially off to the Governor’s desk.
大约11个小时前, the House approved an altered version of the 森ate leadership’s 道具osal 1 implementation legislation, SB 613, SB 614, sb615和sb16. 通过他们的变化, a filer must disclose if they or their spouse is a registered vendor with the state or has a majority interest in a company that is a registered vendor to Michigan.
森. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield)’ SB 374 – which first only increased the size of an election precinct to no more than 2,999名活跃登记选民增至4名,999 – was also modified in the House to serve as a trailer bill for the financial disclosure package, prohibiting an elected candidate from assuming office if they have not filed the aforementioned disclosure.
SB 615 and SB 616 were automatically enrolled and shipped off to Gov. 格雷琴·惠特默的桌子, while the updated SB 613 and SB 614 were approved 36-2 before becoming en route to the Governor’s desk. 森s. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and 乔纳森·林赛(R-Brooklyn) opposed the bills.
Meanwhile, before leaving the Legislature for Whitmer’s office, SB 374 passed by 30-8, with 森s. 小约瑟夫·贝里诺. (R-Monroe), Kevin Daley (R-Lum), John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs), Roger Hauck (R-Union Twp.), Michele Hoitenga (R-Manton), 乔纳森·林赛(R-Brooklyn), Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and Lana Theis (R-Brighton) opposing it.
森. 露丝·约翰逊(R-Holly), 谁在2011年至2018年担任国务卿, 对一揽子计划提出了不成功的修正案, 指示过滤器提供名称, mailing address and employer identification number of any 501(c)4 political or social welfare organization they or their spouse is a director or officer of.
Transparency advocates and various watchdogs have criticized 501(c)4 nonprofit organizations as secretive backdoors w在这里 politicians can raise money from anonymous donors. 根据约翰逊失败的修正案, the same filing mandates would apply to 527 Political Action Committees (PACs), 哪些受到了类似的批评.
Johnson referenced a January 2022 report by The Detroit 新闻 finding that “Road to Michigan’s Future,一个支持惠特默的非营利组织, 提高了6美元.一年内从未公开的捐赠者那里获得了500万美元, 只有一个贡献者——没有说明它是一个人, 公司或组织-捐赠$875,000年分别.
“这通常被称为黑钱. The people of Michigan deserve to know about these accounts and the potential influence they place on their elected officials,约翰逊说. “我的修正案是常识性的透明度. It’s a measure that will provide additional and sorely needed sunshine on the ownership of these accounts, which are often used by officials and candidates outside the view of traditional campaign finance reporting, 而且没有最基本的透明度.”
Runestad described the bills as hastily crafted styrofoam tablets, run down from the mountaintop just before the end of this year’s session.
2022年的提案1得到了超过2人的支持.在上次大选中有800万选民, and required the Legislature to develop a premier financial disclosure law revealing the assets, 议员的债务和收入来源, 国务卿, 司法部长, 副州长和州长.
Failure to have a new law developed by legislators signed by the Governor and enacted by Dec. 31 of this year could likely result in a lawsuit being filed in the Michigan Supreme Court.
Thursday was expected to be both the House and 森ate’s regular session day before adjourning for the year on Nov. 14.
“I must vote no on this mostly toothless bill 在这里 today,” Runestad said. “他们制造了这个骗局, and we had this one shot – this one opportunity – that will now be gone with the passage of this bill. 如果立法机关现在不做正确的事情, 在枪口下, is anyone deluded enough to think that they will fix what needs to be rectified when the pressure is all gone?”
他说这就像“一种病态。, 盲目的, deaf three-legged kitten just got tossed in among the Lansing wolves.”
Closely monitoring all this legislative action on disclosure is Michigan Common Cause. 上周, the program director was making noises about a legal challenge if the lawmakers did not go far enough on spousal disclosure.
Quinton Turner last Friday put it this way, “I think that is absolutely a possibility. The voters want to see transparency and see financial disclosure in Michigan.”
MIRS caught up with Turner just moments before the 森ate adopted the house amendments and he is now suggesting, “我们目前不准备采取法律行动.”
What he and others are prepared to do is take a deep dive into what changes were made, including the provision that spouses report any contact with state vendors and disclose whether they are employees of the same or earn money from those vendors.
特纳承认这很重要, but “state vendors is a narrow universe” and t在这里 are other business ties that spouses might have. 他说，众议院的改革“没有达到应有的程度”.”
He also notes that the 15 progressive Democrats who voted no for that same reason were holding out 更多的 sunlight on the disclosure form from relatives.
“I’m not sure what we do at this point,” he explains adding, “it’s a little difficult to say.”
Article courtesy MIRS 新闻 for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter