LobbyComply Blog

Proposal 2, a citizen-initiated measure, will be on the November 3 ballot. If passed, Proposal 2 will prohibit regulated electric and gas utilities; contractors with over $250,000 in annual government contracts; and people and organizations with substantial connections to these contractors from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to those who run for or hold offices with influence over such contracts. The proposal would also require disclosure reports for electioneering communications exceeding $5,000 a year and lower the threshold for independent expenditure reporting from $1,000 or more a year to more than $500.01 a year. The proposal also requires disclosing donor information for certain independent expenditures and requires internet political communications to disclose who paid for them.

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills into law on July 21, expanding revolving door laws. Public Act 74 expands the current prohibition against lobbying by state legislators who resign during a term of office to apply to all former state legislators for two years after they leave office and applicable to legislators whose term of office begins on or after January 1, 2027. Public Act 75 prohibits a former governor, lieutenant governor, or head of a principal executive branch department whose term of office begins on or after January 1, 2027, from making expenditures for lobbying, or being compensated or reimbursed for lobbying, in an amount requiring registration as a lobbyist agent, for two years after they leave office. Public Act 76 prohibits a currently serving state legislator from being compensated, other than their legislative pay, to lobby legislative or executive officials in other states, the federal government, or any other government.

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The 103rd Legislature adjourned sine die on December 23 and Gov. Whitmer signed 36 bills into law the same day. Among the bills passed during the session were Senate Bills 99 and 100. Senate Bill 99 changes the financial disclosure reporting requirements for public officers, including the requirement to include the name of the lobbyist or lobbyist agent that made the gift payment, travel payment, or payment to a charity in lieu of honorarium to the officer. Senate Bill 100 amends the Candidate for Office Financial Disclosure Act to expand the term candidate for office to include a candidate who intended to appear on the ballot, in addition to current criteria. The 103rd legislative session will continue on January 14, 2026.

The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2026 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit. The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official remain unchanged for 2026 at $800. Exempt expenditures remain unchanged for 2026 at $16. The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $3,175 to $3,200 for any 12-month period. The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official remains unchanged for 2026 at $1,600. The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $1,025 to $1,050. The monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official remains unchanged for 2026 at $79, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and the end the reporting period increased from $475 to $500. Employee reimbursements remain unchanged for 2026 at $32, and the general gift threshold also remains unchanged for 2026 at $79. Late filing fees remain unchanged for 2026 at $32 a day up to a maximum of $960. 

Invite them out for coffee or a steak? Make sure you know the gift restrictions of your state or municipality. Request a demo of our online guidebooks today.

MICHIGAN: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called a special election for May 5, 2026, to fill the vacancy in Senate District 35 caused by Sen. McDonald Rivet stepping down to serve in Congress. In August, a group of voters filed a lawsuit against Whitmer seeking to compel her to call a special election to fill the vacancy. The special primary will be February 3, 2026.

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Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson today testified before the House Committee on Oversight to update lawmakers on upgrades and improvements to the new Michigan Transparency Network (MiTN). In her testimony, Benson detailed specific technology fixes and process improvements the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) and vendor Tyler Technologies have made to the MiTN system since May. MiTN improvements planned for July 12 include a campaign finance filing summary report for filings created in MiTN, improvements to the public search function, and the ability to pay committee and lobby fees by credit card. 

Representatives from the Michigan Department of State (MDOS), Tyler Technologies, and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB) testified at a joint committee hearing regarding issues with the Michigan Transparency Network (MiTN) platform. MiTN is the state’s new consolidated online reporting system for personal financial disclosure, campaign finance, lobbying, and legal defense fund information. The hearing was called after lawmakers had trouble filing their financial disclosure reports and approved a one-month extension for their deadline. MDOS and Tyler Technologies are now working to implement substantial improvements by the filing deadline for candidate committees on July 25.  As part of the department’s continuing commitment to transparency, MDOS has launched a new webpage to track existing technical issues, recent fixes, and FAQs for each MiTN module at https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/disclosure/mitn-information.

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The Department of State issued a declaratory ruling clarifying an exception to the lobbying gift ban regarding expenses for officials attending conferences. In the Detroit Regional Chamber Declaratory Ruling issued March 31, the department concluded a lobbyist or lobbyist agent may provide complimentary admission to public officials attending the Mackinac Policy Conference where the officials are providing a service with a value equal to or greater than the price of admission. The burden of demonstrating a public official is providing a service is on the lobbyist or lobbyist agent. An earlier ruling issued on March 10 concluded complimentary admission was an impermissible gift, but additional evidence submitted during the public comment period demonstrated public officials attending the Mackinac Policy Conference provide a service in exchange for complimentary admission. Lawmakers are currently considering Senate Bill 101, which would codify an exception to the gift ban for admission to a conference or educational event with subject matter directly related to the duties of the public official.

Q. I’ve received emails about Michigan transitioning to a new lobbyist system. What do I need to do to be able to file reports?

A. Michigan has completely overhauled their lobbyist reporting system, integrating lobbying reporting into their MiTN (Michigan Transparency Network) and MiLogin services. The old system has been sunsetted and placed in “read only mode.” Due to the old system shutting down, every lobbyist and lobbyist agent must create a new account to file reports electronically. Registrations and reports may still be completed via paper, signed, scanned, and emailed to the Secertary of State. But much like their old lobbyist system, they have disabled their old email. Now all correspondence must be sent to “MDOS-FinancialDisclosure@michigan.gov.”

The first hurdle with the new system is figuring out what portal to use to create their MiLogin profile. Individual lobbyists should use “milogin.michigan.gov.” This is a “personal” login and one that should already be used by lobbyists who are Michigan residents. This ensures an individual does not have multiple accounts. Businesses, lobbying firms, and organizations should use “milogintp.michigan.gov.”
An individual can use the MiLogin for businesses if they wish to file for multiple clients.

Once a profile is created, you must “add” the MiTN link to your MiLogin home page and create a two-factor authorization method. The next step is to link your old Michigan lobbyist information to your MiTN account. Importantly, only people who are listed on a registration, such as an employee or signatory, may file reports. The system will ask what your MiTN user role is. You may select either “Lobby Registrant” or “Lobby Data Entry.” Anyone can be labeled as “Lobby Data Entry” but, only people who are listed on a registration can be labeled as “Lobby Registrant.” Only people labeled as “Lobby Registrant” may file reports. Your account will be reviewed, and once approved, you will be able to file registrations and reports through the portal.

[For more information about the nuances of the changed system, please check out the “Registration” and “Reporting” sections of the Michigan Lobbying Compliance Laws online publication.]

The Department of State will hold a public hearing on March 18 to receive public comments on proposed changes to the Gifts Under the Lobby Act rules. The proposed changes are intended to codify two interpretive statements issued in 2024 addressing a gift loophole allowing officials to offer reimbursement for the difference between the actual gift value and the current limit. The changes are also aimed at providing additional general explanation about the regulation of gifts from lobbyists and their agents to public officials. Comments on the proposed rules may be made at the hearing, by mail, or by email at Elections-PublicComment@michigan.gov.

The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2025 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit.

The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official increased from $775 to $800.

Exempt expenditures remain unchanged for 2025 at $16.

The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $3,075 to $3175 for any 12-month period.

The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official increased from $1,550 to $1,600.

The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $1,000 to $1,025. The monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official increased from $76 to $79, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and the end the reporting period remains unchanged for 2025 at $475.

Employee reimbursements increased from $31 to $32, and the general gift threshold also increased from $76 to $79.

Late filing fees increased from $31 a day up to a maximum of $930, to $32 a day up to a maximum of $960.

The Office of Secretary of State issued two interpretive statements clarifying the state’s lobbyist gift ban.

The LaBrant Interpretive Statement prohibits a lobbyist or lobbyist agent from providing a public official any gift, including tickets, if the value of the ticket is over the gift limit of $76, even if the public official reimburses the lobbyist or lobbyist agent for the value of the gift over the limit.

The Michigan Association of Health Plans Interpretive Statement indicates complimentary admission to an educational conference paid by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent for a lawmaker’s attendance is only permissible if the value of the conference admission is equal to or less than the value of the services provided by the attending public official.

The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2024 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit.

The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official increased from $725 to $775.

Exempt expenditures increased from $15 to $16.

The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $2,900 to $3,075 for any 12-month period.

The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official increased from $1,450 to $1,550.

The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $950 to $1,000.

Monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official increased from $72 to $76, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and end the reporting period increased from $450 to $475.

Employee reimbursements increased from $29 to $31, and the general gift threshold also increased from $72 to $76.

Late filing fees increased from $29 a day up to a maximum of $870, to $31 a day up to a maximum of $930.

The 102nd Legislature adjourned sine die on November 14 after the House and Senate adopted House Concurrent Resolution 10 to adjourn sine die early to start the 90-day clock for the effective date of bills not receiving enough Republican support to take effect immediately.

This includes legislation changing the date for Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary election to February 27, 2024.

Lawmakers passed bills to require elected state officers and candidates to annually file a financial disclosure report by April 15 of each year.

Just before the adjournment, House Democrats temporarily lost their narrow two-seat majority when two lawmakers won mayoral elections, creating a 54-54 tie.

However, Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate noted House Rules adopted in January only require a leadership change if there is a 55-55 tie and Democrats are unlikely to lose either of their two vacant seats in special elections likely to occur next spring.