The Michigan House of Representatives took up a ballot measure Tuesday to curb political donations from some of Michigan’s public utilities and large government contractors. House lawmakers passed the citizen-led initiative by a 77-26 margin.
This is part of a process under state law where, before an initiative goes before voters, the Legislature has a chance to pass it into law first.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) said the House had “a duty to act.”
“These big money industries are spending millions of dollars on politics and on donating to politicians, and everything keeps getting more expensive. So, it’s really a broken system that doesn’t work for the people,” Hall told reporters after House session Tuesday.
The measure, sponsored by the group Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP), only skips voters and becomes law if the Senate also passes it.
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) is already saying she won’t do so.
“MMOP has successfully gathered more than half a million signatures and the message from Michiganders is clear: They want to see this on the ballot in November. Senate Democrats already agree that there is too much dark money in politics, and we are eager to hear what voters have to say on this issue. In that spirit, we will not be subverting the will of the voters by taking it up legislatively,” Brinks said in a written statement.
While Hall and other House Republicans are also calling on Brinks to take up the measure, even some Democrats who voted in favor of it Tuesday are skeptical of the move.
The state Legislature passing the initiative now would make the policy law sooner than if it went before voters in November. But it would also make it easier to change later.
That’s because voter-approved laws require three-fourth supermajorities in both the House and Senate. Legislature-passed laws can be changed or repealed with simple majorities.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled the Legislature can’t change a citizen-led initiative it passes during the same term it takes it up. But it’s still fair game during a following legislative session.
In a written statement, MMOP campaign manager Maura Cowley thanked Brinks for deferring to the decision to voters.
“Speaker Hall should be ashamed of himself. Don’t be fooled – what we saw from Hall today was nothing more than political gamesmanship. He never had any intention of getting money out of politics. If he did, he wouldn’t have let common-sense, bipartisan policies to root out corruption in politics sit in committee time and time again. Let’s be clear – our campaign will continue to build momentum and we’re excited for Michiganders to vote yes and finally put an end to pay-to-play politics in Lansing,” Cowley said.
The ballot measure is similar to a package that has gone nowhere in the Michigan legislature, despite being introduced in the House under both Republican and Democratic control.
Hall told reporters he plans to vote for the question should it end up on the November ballot. When asked if he’d commit to not changing the measure next session, he said some of that would depend on what courts do with the policy if it ends up there.
“I think ultimately, [if] we approve it, we have to assume we’re not going to change it. And, if we do change it, the voters are going to hold you accountable,” Hall said.
