August 27, 2009

DETROIT - Attorney General Mike Cox today announced a legislative proposal to require state and local officials, candidates for office, and immediate family members to disclose their personal finances and gifts from lobbyists, while also strengthening the law requiring legislators to abstain from voting when they have conflicts of interest. 

"If Michigan is to restore its reputation as a quality place to live and create jobs, we must send a clear signal that Michigan is a national leader when it comes to government ethics," said Cox.  "We can do that by requiring financial disclosure from our public officials for the first time in Michigan history." 

Cox's legislation is the first to propose that elected state office holders, directors of state departments, local officials making more than $65,000 per year, and candidates for those offices give an annual reporting of gifts and reimbursements from lobbyists when their aggregate value exceeds $250 per year, per lobbyist.  This legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Paul Opsommer of DeWitt, would also require spouses and dependents to report gifts and reimbursements from lobbyists, which current law does not address.   

Additionally, the proposal requires these officials, candidates and immediate family members to annually report personal financial information for the first time in Michigan history, and in a similar fashion to current requirements for federal office.  Disclosure would be required under the following categories:

            All reports would be filed with the Secretary of State's office, which would have powers to investigate possible violations.  Failure to file required information could result in a range of charges, with a maximum penalty of four years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine for failing to file three or more reports.

The Center for Public Integrity ranks Michigan dead-last among the 50 states for financial disclosure by its public officials.  Only two other states, Vermont and Idaho, currently have no disclosure laws on their books.  However, other states have made ethics reform a priority.  Louisiana, for example, recently overhauled its ethics laws and shot up from 44^th to 1^st place nationally.  Full rankings can be seen at www.publicintegrity.org.

"Michigan is at the bottom of far too many lists," said Rep. Opsommer.  "Of all the challenges we face, increasing governmental transparency should be one of the easiest and quickest things we can do.  There is no reason to wait."

Cox also announced a bill, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Patterson of Canton, which places in statute the guidelines requiring state legislators to abstain from voting when they have a conflict of interest.  Current guidelines exist only in legislative rules and differ between the House and Senate.  The legislation requires public disclosure of a conflict prior to abstaining, expands the grounds for conflicts to include business associates and calls for the legislature to create rules to enforce the law.

"Full disclosure of all pertinent and relevant information is essential in good government.  Information is power and the more information in the hands of each and every one of us, the more informed decisions we can make," said Sen. Patterson.  "With the passing of the full disclosure legislation, pertinent information will be available to everyone."

            Cox was joined at the announcements by City of Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, Detroit City Council Candidate Gary Brown, and other state legislators.

"I applaud Mike Cox for his efforts to initiate this important government ethics proposal," said Mayor Fouts.  "I have been a strong proponent of ethics reforms for a long time.  It is clear to me that the people of Warren and the State of Michigan have high expectations for their public officials and the Attorney General's ethics proposal is another step in the right direction."

Under the proposed legislation the Detroit City Council would be required to file financial disclosure reports.

"This proposed legislation would be a good template for setting the standard on a local level," said Brown.  "Whether you live in the City of Detroit or anywhere else in the State of Michigan, all citizens want good government."

Attorney General Cox is Michigan's leading advocate for a more transparent government.  Cox has pushed for all state spending to be placed in a searchable online database so that taxpayers can see how their money is being spent.  In 2008, he was the first statewide official to place his department's finances online, where citizens can learn about spending, contracts, travel, and office expenses (www.michigan.gov/trackyourtaxes).  Cox also was the first Michigan Attorney General to place legal settlement documentation online, where citizens can review over 7,000 pages of legal documentation (www.michigan.gov/settlementcenter). 

 Making Michigan A Leader in Government Ethics

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