Michigan lawmakers would be explicitly barred from voting on issues they have a personal interest in under legislation that passed the House with wide bipartisan support Thursday.
Sponsored by Rep. Pamela Hornberger, House Bill 4001 would prohibit state lawmakers from voting on bills or other measures that could personally benefit them, their families or any entities in which they have a stake.
Currently, conflict of interest policies are in place through state law and legislative rules, but there are few mechanisms to regulate or enforce violations. Lawmakers are not required to disclose financial records — and no state entity keeps records of financial interests. It’s on public officials to determine if they have a conflict of interest, and the enforcement tools in the event of a possible conflict are rarely used.
Conflict of interest rules would be more specific under Hornberger’s legislation, which defines a conflict as any matter where a lawmaker, their spouse, dependents or a person or entity with a legal or financial connection to the lawmaker stands to personally benefit.
Discipline for any violation of the proposed conflict of interest policy would still be under the purview of the legislative chamber the lawmaker was serving in.
A violation of the policy would not nullify or affect the validity of the member’s initial vote.
The bill passed the House 105-3 Thursday with Republican Reps. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, and Pat Outman, R-Six Lakes, voting no.
Hornberger’s bill was the first introduced in the House this session as part of an ongoing effort led by House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, to increase government transparency and shore up ethics policies in a state consistently ranked among the worst in the nation on both counts.
In March, the House unanimously passed bills that would subject the Legislature and governor to public records laws. Similar Senate bills have cleared the Senate Oversight Committee but have not yet been taken up for a floor vote.
Wentworth also proposed and passed out of the House a joint resolution that would require a two-thirds vote on any bill taken up after November general elections in even years. Known as “lame duck,” this period often results in long session days and dozens of bills flying through the House and Senate with little time for review. That resolution is currently before the Senate Government Operations Committee.
So far, most of the measures have passed with wide bipartisan support. But legislation aimed at subjecting lawmakers to personal financial disclosure rules have been met with opposition by some lawmakers and government transparency advocates, who have expressed concern the bills would as written not make those disclosures public until an elected or appointed state official leaves office.
Related coverage:
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Michigan Senate panel clears bills subjecting Legislature, governor to open records requirements
Michigan House unanimously votes to include governor, legislature in open records laws
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Proposed financial disclosure bills wouldn’t make current lawmakers’ finances public
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