Voters in Flint, Michigan have selected nine members to serve on the Flint Charter Review Commission. Such a commission hasn’t been formed in the city for nearly 40 years.

Commissioners have up to three years to revise the city’s charter. The revisions must ultimately be approved by voters in a citywide referendum election.

Proposed revisions can be put up to a vote three times. In the event voters reject the proposed charter after three referenda, the commission is dissolved.

Two Senate bills pertaining to Michigan election law were signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on February 19, 2015.

Senate Bills 44 and 45 change the date of the presidential primary election to the second Tuesday in March.

The bills will take effect in time for the 2016 presidential primary election.

Earlier this year, the Committee to Restore Michigan’s Part-time Legislature circulated a statewide petition to amend the Michigan Constitution. The proposed amendment aimed to institute a part-time state Legislature and limit legislative sessions to 60 days, lawmaker salaries to $35,000, and total legislative staffers to 250.

The committee announced on June 12, 2014, it is suspending its campaign due to failure to collect enough signatures by the June deadline. The committee needed at least 322,609 signatures in order to get the amendment on the ballot in November.

Although the campaign is suspended for the 2014 election, the committee plans to resurrect the effort in 2016.

The Service Employees International Union has agreed to pay a $199,000 fine in a settlement agreement arising out of allegations of campaign finance violations. This fine is the second-largest in the history of the state.

The violations were a result of a 2012 ballot question to amend the state Constitution regarding home health care. They included commingling of funds, late filings, not identifying all accounts used, and not providing complete or accurate campaign statements.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said of the settlement agreement, “This agreement reflects our commitment to transparency and accountability in the campaign finance process, especially in an election year.”

A statewide petition to amend the Michigan Constitution was approved by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers last week. The proposed amendment would institute a part-time state Legislature and limit legislative sessions to 60 days, lawmaker salaries to $35,000, and total legislative staffers to 250.

The committee seeking the amendment must collect at least 322,609 signatures in order to get the amendment on the ballot in November.

The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget –Procurement is holding a seminar on Contracting with the State of Michigan. It will be held January 23, 2014 from 2:00pm—4:30pm at Constitution Hall, 525 West Allegan Street, Lansing MI 48933.

Topics to be addressed include finding bid opportunities, where to register as a vendor, researching upcoming solicitations, common mistakes made when writing a proposal, rules and guidelines for state contracts, purchasing preferences, and bid solicitation structures.

Interested parties can register here.

Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill Friday revising Michigan’s campaign finance law. Under the new law, an individual will be able to donate up to $6,800 to a candidate for statewide office in a single election cycle, up from $3,400. An individual will be able to donate $2,000 for state House and Senate candidates, up from $1,000. Local candidate caps depend on the size of the community.

The new law marks the first increase to state contribution limits since the late 1970s. The new law also requires the sponsors of “issue ads” to include disclaimers on their materials identifying the party responsible for the ad.

The Michigan Legislature is considering a bill to amend existing campaign finance law.

The bill would require those making independent expenditures for a candidate or ballot question within 60 days of an election where that candidate or ballot question is on the ballot to file an electronic report with the secretary of state within seven days of making such expenditure.

Failure to file such a report would result in a late filing fee equal to the lesser of the total amount of the independent expenditure or $2,000.

The State Bar of Michigan has requested a declaratory ruling from the Michigan Secretary of State regarding the current interpretation of the state’s Campaign Finance Act as it relates to judicial campaign contributions.

Under the current interpretation of the law, issue advocacy advertisements are not considered expenditures, and thus are not required to be reported. This allows the funding sources of the majority of judicial campaign advertisements to remain anonymous.

The State Bar of Michigan argues that such anonymous funding gives a perception of judicial bias in the state. The Secretary of State must issue a declaratory ruling within 60 days of receipt of the request. Stay tuned!

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced the dates for a special election Wednesday, and Genesee County Clerk John Gleason is pleased with his choice. The special election for the 49th District House seat will take place on Election Day, November 5, with the primary, if needed, to be conducted on August 6.

Gleason had said he was hoping Snyder would save the county money and schedule the special election on the normal election days, but he was not sure it would actually happen. “I’m tickled about that. I’m so glad. [He] never contacted us, but it worked out all right. The most important thing is that they got it right. It’s good for the taxpayers.”

Gleason started the run of special elections for Genesee County when he left the 27th District Senate seat after winning the November election for county clerk. Jim Ananich won the special election for the vacant Senate seat in May, leaving his House seat open.

Two people have already announced their intentions to run for the seat. Kyle McCree, manager of Community Outreach for the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, announced earlier this week he plans to run and Phil Phelps, former special advisor for Richard Hammel and former chief of staff for Pam Farris, has been campaigning since April.

The Michigan legislature has adjourned for the year after a busy lame duck session.

Bills passed, and sent to Governor Rick Snyder’s desk for approval, included legislation on right-to-work, abortion, and gun control.

The GOP will still control the legislature in the new session, scheduled to begin on January 9, but it will be a smaller majority after Democrats took back five seats in the November elections.

Photo of the interior dome in the Michigan State Capitol by Dave Parker in Wikipedia.

WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN:  County Executive Robert Ficano has issued a new executive ethics policy that contains lobbyist registration provisions, gift restrictions, and conflict of interest disclosure requirements for executive appointees.

The policy requires a lobbyist who lobbies any executive appointee to register with the State of Michigan and bars lobbyists not verified as registered from meeting with executive appointees.

Additionally, the policy prohibits lobbyists from providing executive appointees with food or beverage valued at more than $100 annually and prohibits all other monetary or non-monetary gifts or gratuities.

Michigan Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has introduced Senate Bill 896, which would require robocalls in the state to clearly identify their sponsor. The bill will also says if a robocall is not endorsed by a candidate, the automated phone message must state it.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports about the legislation in “State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker introduces bill to force identification on campaign robo-calls” by Julie Mack.

Spending in Michigan’s upcoming Congressional and state Supreme Court elections could be near $100 million in 2012.

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United case in 2010 which made it possible for special interest groups to spend unlimited funds supporting thier candidates of choice has caused an explosion of campaign related spending that is becoming more apparent while more and more campaigns are underway.

Now that those who have large amounts of money can freely support campaigns with any amount of money, money from special interests is expected to make up a large proportion of the overall total campaign spending in the upcoming elections.

Read this article by Angela Wittrock to learn more.