Democracy against corruption

Michigan consistently has ranked at or near the bottom of U.S. states in government transparency and accountability for over a decade. Journalists and government watchdogs have been sounding alarms while statutory remedies have stalled in legislative limbo or faded entirely from view.

Two policy reforms would go a long way: banning legislators receiving gifts from lobbyists and ending the total exemption from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests currently enjoyed by the office of the Governor of the State of Michigan and by members of the Michigan State Legislature.

Given the incentives at play, Michigan residents cannot rely on representatives to enact the necessary reforms. In a response to an investigation published by the Detroit News in 2024 that revealed Lansing politicians receiving gifts from lobbyists unchecked, retired litigator Bob LaBrant said a ballot measure through a citizen-initiated petition drive may be Michigan residents’ only hope.

“The December 2024 lame duck session meltdown underscores the need for the voters of Michigan by 2026 to turn once again to the initiative to reform a flawed system where FOIA expansion stalled,” he said. “With the end of trifecta rule on December 31, 2024, and a return to divided government in Lansing in 2025, any new reform effort is unlikely to be pursued, let alone accomplished, using the traditional legislative process.”

In July 2024 LaBrant extracted an interpretive statement from the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office that acknowledged the existing reimbursement system employed by many Lansing politicians is likely forbidden by Michigan’s Lobby Act.

“This was a small victory,” he said. “The Michigan State Capitol is awash in dark money given by tax exempt organizations designed to hide the true identity of the contributor. Lobbyists view gifts to legislators (to attend sporting events, concerts and rounds of golf, for example) as a cost of doing business that gives them an advantage over others in public policy debate. Legislators too often view receipt of those gifts with a sense of entitlement and not guilt.”

LaBrant recommends banning lobbyist gift-giving and extending FOIA coverage to the governor and the legislature. Massachusetts is the only other state in the U.S. with similar exemptions.

He also recommends three additional policy reforms to require more financial contribution disclosures and regulations and to introduce a cooling-off period for officials leaving office, prior to registering as lobbyist agents.

“Since 2018, state public official personal financial disclosure, term limit modification, absentee and early voting, voter registration and redistricting reform have all been achieved by voters bypassing an intransigent legislature,” he said. “All but one was brought to the ballot by citizen-initiated petition drives.”

To get hands on with a citizen-initiated petition drive this summer, interested parties can join Rank MI Vote, a nonpartisan organization working to bring ranked-choice voting to the State of Michigan for a number of statewide electoral contests. Details are available at RankMIVote.org

We all are going to need a lot of practice if we hope to bring any of these much-needed reforms to Lansing.