Article courtesy MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
Direct legislative spending items, also called pork, would need to be put in the proverbial oven 45 days prior to being approved in the state budget, as part of legislation Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law along with two other bills Tuesday.
Whitmer signed SB 596, sponsored by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), and HB 4420, sponsored by Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare), that would require all earmarks or special legislative requests to be publicly disclosed and posted online a minimum of 45 days before any spending bills are voted on the floor.
“Good governance begins with honesty, and honesty begins with transparency – no matter which party holds the gavel,” Kunse said.
The signed legislation is a compromise between Senate Democrats and House Republicans that Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said was a reason for taking the state government over the shutdown line.
“For far too long, politicians and Lansing insiders have abused the system to stuff the budget full of anonymous pork projects they can’t defend. That abuse ends today,” Hall said.
He said any earmarks for companies would require “sufficient documentation” before being paid out.
Both Whitmer and Hall claimed the win, with Hall saying it is part of his “Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (HEAT) plan” and Whitmer saying she made promises about the increase in transparency on who is sponsoring the earmarks in her State of the State address.
“Less than a year later, I’m proud to sign these two bills that require lawmakers to put their names on any projects they propose,” Whitmer said.
Legislative sergeants-at-arms would be able to operate outside the Michigan Capitol after Whitmer signed HB 5055, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport). The activities would need approval from the House Speaker or the Senate Majority Leader through an investigation request.
Whitmer also signed HB 5092, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), which allows zoos that have been in “good standing” for five years to get a breeding license from the state, which would let them breed large cats, like lions and tigers, and bear.
The license would be issued through the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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