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Proposal 1 in Michigan: Term limits & financial disclosures would change

Posted at 9:53 AM, Oct 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-25 10:42:57-04

(WXYZ) — Michigan voters are voting already and will head to the polls on Nov. 8 to vote on several important races and three proposals that would change laws in Michigan.

Related: Proposal 2 in Michigan: What voter rights would change if it passed?

The first proposal they will see is Proposal 1, which will amend the Michigan Constitution and deal with term limits and financial disclosures for the State Legislature.

What would change if Proposal 1 passes?

As we mentioned, Proposal 1 would make changes to how long legislators could serve in the State House or Senate, and also require them to file public finance disclosures.

Michigan currently has term limits for its legislators. People can serve three 2-year terms in the State House for a total of six years and two 4-year terms in the State Senate for a total of eight years.

Under the proposal, the law would change and allow people to serve a combined 12 total years in the legislature. A report from Gongwer found that hundreds of people would become eligible to run for a term in the State House if the proposal passes.

However, those who filed to run for the Senate in 2022 will have to serve under the current law for term limits, which means they can only serve two terms.

The proposal would also require lawmakers and state executives like the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general to file annual public disclosure reports starting in 2024.

Those reports would have to include assets, liabilities, income, positions held, gifts from lobbyists, future employment agreement gifts, travel reimbursements and other payments.

The state legislature did weaken the proposal before putting it on the ballot. The original one would have required those public officials to disclose income and payments received from anyone, but the legislature changed it to registered lobbyists.

Who's behind Prop 1?

A bipartisan group called Voters for Transparency and Term Limits is behind Prop 1. The committee is charged by Rich Studley, a Republican who is the former Michigan Chamber of Commerce CEO, and Mark Gaffney, a Democrat who is the former AFL-CIO president and current member of the Wayne State Board of Governors.

Who has endorsed Prop 1?

According to the organization's website, major endorsements include the Detroit Regional Chamber, Grand Rapids Chamber, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Rock Family of Companies, the UAW and the Small Business Association of Michgian.

What do opponents say?

Some opponents to the measure include Patrick Anderson, the person who wrote the 1992 constitutional amendment establishing term limits, former Republican Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, and two former Republican state representatives.

They filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Supreme Court that was struck down, arguing that because the proposal had two different purposes, it shouldn't be allowed on the ballot.

Other critics say that the proposal focuses more on the financial disclosure form than the term limits.

Ballot Summary

A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE ANNUAL PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS BY LEGISLATORS AND OTHER STATE OFFICERS AND LIMIT SERVICE AS A LEGISLATOR TO 12 YEARS

This proposed constitutional amendment would:

  • Require members of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general to file annual public financial disclosure reports after 2023, reporting assets, liabilities, income, positions held, future employment agreements, gifts, travel reimbursements, and other payments.
  • Require the legislature to implement but not limit or restrict the reporting requirements.
  • Reduce current term limits for state representatives and state senators to a 12-year total limit in any combination between the house of representatives and the senate, with the exception that a person elected to the senate in 2022 may be elected the number of times allowed when that person became a candidate.

Should this proposal be adopted?

[ ] YES
[ ] NO

Full text of proposed law

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state constitution of 1963, by amending sections 10 and 54 of article IV, to require certain disclosures and to modify limitations on terms of office of state legislators.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state constitution of 1963, to require certain disclosures and to modify limitations on terms of office of state legislators, is proposed, agreed to, and submitted to the people of the state:

ARTICLE IV

Sec. 10. (1) No member of the legislature nor any state officer shall be interested directly or indirectly in any contract with the state or any political subdivision thereof which shall cause a substantial conflict of interest.

(2) By April 15, 2024, and by a date each year thereafter as prescribed by state law, each member of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general shall electronically file an annual financial disclosure report with the department of state that complies with this section. A report required to be filed under this section must include information regarding all of the following:

  1. Description of assets and sources of unearned income.
  2. Sources of earned income.
  3. Description of liabilities.
  4. Positions currently held as an officer, director, trustee, partner, proprietor, representative, employee, or consultant of any organization, corporation, firm, partnership, or other business enterprise, nonprofit organization, labor organization, or educational or other institution other than the state of Michigan. The positions required to be disclosed under this subdivision do not include positions held in any religious, social, fraternal, or political entity, or positions that are solely of an honorary nature.
  5. Agreements or arrangements with respect to future employment, a leave of absence while serving as a legislator or state officer, continuation or deferral of payments by a former or current employer other than the state of Michigan, or continuing participation in an employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former employer.
  6. Gifts received and required to be reported by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent, as prescribed by state law.
  7. Travel payments and reimbursements received and required to be reported by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent, as prescribed by state law.
  8. Payments made by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent to a charity in lieu of honoraria.

(3) The financial disclosure report required under subsection (2) must be filed with the department of state in a form and manner prescribed by state law. The department of state shall make the report available to the public online.

(4) The legislature shall further implement this section by appropriate legislation. Legislation implementing this section must not limit or restrict the application of subsections (2) and (3).

(5) If legislation implementing this section is not enacted by December 31, 2023, a resident of this state may initiate a legal action against the legislature and the governor in the Michigan supreme court to enforce the requirements of this section.

Sec. 54. (1) A person may not be elected to the office of state representative or state senator for terms or partial terms that combined total more than 12 years. However, this limitation does not prohibit a person elected to the office of state senator in 2022 from being elected to that office for the number of times permitted at the time the person became a candidate for that office.

(2) This section is self-executing. Legislation may be enacted to facilitate operation of this section, but a law must not limit or restrict the application of this section.

Resolved further, That the foregoing amendment shall be submitted to the people of the state at the next general election in the manner provided by law.

Resolved further, That it is the intent of the legislature that when submitted to the people of the state the amendment be
presented with the following question: