Michigan House OKs legislation getting tougher on campaign finance violations

In a party-line vote last week, the Democratic-controlled Michigan House voted to advance part of an ethics and transparency package, allowing the secretary of state to take action against alleged campaign finance violations.

House Bill 5583 is one of seven bills introduced as part of the Bringing Reforms in Integrity, Transparency and Ethics (BRITE) Act introduced earlier this year. The package is intended to prevent abuses of campaign finances and shed a light on Michigan’s government.

The legislation — which has won support from Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, both Democrats — would allow the Michigan secretary of state to apply for a court to intervene if a campaign finance complaint is filed, and the Secretary believes a violation has or is continuing to occur.

“Today’s passage of an important component of the BRITE Act will strengthen Michigan’s standards of good governance. With real-time campaign finance enforcement authority, the Bureau of Elections could ask the court to immediately stop criminal behavior, rather than wait for a months-long process to play out,” Benson said in a statement released after the bill’s passage on Wednesday. “I will proudly continue my work with Attorney General Nessel and our partners in the Legislature to pass the other provisions of the BRITE Act to further improve the ethics and transparency laws in our state.”



https://michiganadvance.com/2024/09/30/michigan-house-oks-legislation-getting-tougher-on-campaign-finance-violations/