Nessel and Benson endorse government transparency legislation following Chatfield charges

After Monday’s deadline for public officers to disclose their finances and Tuesday’s announcement of embezzlement charges against former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) and his wife, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson shared support for two measures looking to protect the state’s political system from outside influence. 

Nessel and Benson, who are both Democrats, testified before the state House Ethics and Oversight Committee in support of the House Bills 5583 and 5586, which were introduced as part of the Bringing Reforms in Transparency and Ethics (BRITE) Act.

Both Nessel and Benson raised concerns about Michigan’s current campaign finance laws after charges were filed against the Lee and Stephanie Chatfield, who each face multiple charges for financial crimes, including allegedly using funds from a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization to pay off $132,000 in charges to Lee Chatfield’s personal credit card.

Nessel announces criminal enterprise charges against former Speaker Chatfield and his wife

“The fact that the alleged financial crimes — including the egregious and flagrant embezzlement of taxpayer dollars and nonprofit funds for personal gain and enrichment — were able to go undetected for so long underscores a failure of our current laws to prohibit corruption in the state government,” Benson said.

While announcing the charges, Nessel called the current system toothless and “utterly worthless” in deterring politicians from abusing social welfare funds. 

The two bills before the committee act as a start to ending corruption in Michigan’s campaign finance system, and creating more transparency in Michigan government, Nessel said.

House Bill 5583, introduced by House Ethics and Oversight Committee Chair Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), allows the Secretary of State to apply for injunctive relief through Ingham County Circuit Court to stop alleged violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. 

Byrnes explained that the current process for investigating campaign finance violations is lengthy, and may allow candidates time to commit unethical or prohibited acts to win their election and face the consequences later. Under her bill, the Bureau of Elections would be able to stop campaign finance violations in real time, Byrnes said.

Strengthening enforcement powers would have a twofold effect, Benson said, it would create a greater deterrent for campaign finance law violations, and give enforcement more teeth when there are violations. 

The other policy, House Bill 5586 creates a one-year “cooling-off period,” preventing lawmakers and executives from serving as lobbyists for one year after their term ends, which the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kara Hope (D-Holt) would bring Michigan in line with the law in many other states. 

Michigan is one of seven states without a cooling off period and has consistently ranked poorly on anti-corruption measures, Hope said. 

The absence of a cooling-off period gives the appearance that former lawmakers who become lobbyists are being hired into high-paying jobs they may have worked on while serving as a legislator, Hope said. 

“I’m in my third term, so I have absolutely encountered former colleagues as lobbyists, and they obviously can use their inside connections and relationships to advance the interests of their clients once they’re out of office. And this creates a conflict of interest,” Hope said.

“If you’re still in office and you’re kind of promised a job at the end of your service, that could influence how you vote as a legislator,” Hope said. 

Several members of the committee, including the Minority Vice Chair Tom Kunse (R-Clare) and Reps. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) indicated interest in expanding the one-year lobbying ban. Harris asked Nessel and Benson if they would support a longer cooling-off period. 

While Benson said she would, she also encouraged lawmakers to consider other inclusions such as a greater waiting period for those in leadership roles. Byrnes moved onto another question so Nessel didn’t answer.

Waiting periods in other states typically range from one to two years, Hope said, noting that a one-year waiting period may be more palatable to legislators. 

Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization, said that while he defends longer waiting periods, a one year waiting period serves as a strong starting point and works quite well at deterring lobbying firms from buying political influence. 

After the meeting, Kunse told reporters he would support the waiting period bill, calling it a good place to start while pointing to transparency efforts Republicans introduced in March 2023 that had not advanced through committee. 

This slate of bills includes HB 4270, which would establish a two-year cooling off period. Kunse noted that while Hope’s bill included an exemption for state employees, HB 4270 does not. 

“The biggest lobbyists in the state of Michigan are the departments. …They’re the ones that ask for the most money so we don’t need all these exemptions, ” Kunse said.

While the two bills introduced in committee do not go far enough, they’re a start, he said. He also shared his preference for a two-year waiting period on lobbying, as well as a graduated system that includes staff. 

“I would like to include employees, you know, so your chief of staff, so the people that I go to for questions, they should also be included in that,” Kunse said. 

“If you’re a representative, two years, if you’re an employee, one year, let’s do something like that,” He said. 

During the hearing, Kunse also raised concerns about politicians profiting off of book deals, alluding to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recently announced book, which a report from Page Six said sold at auction for seven figures. 

When asked if a book deal could be considered a conflict of interest, Kunse said that it is the definition of the appearance of impropriety. He said he would like to see legislation introduced that addresses additional sources of income such as book deals. 

In a press release, Simon and Schuster, the company publishing Whitmer’s book, said the governor would donate her net proceeds from the book to the Capital Region Community Foundation through the remainder of her term.

While Kunse said donating the funds was the right thing to do, he emphasized to the Advance the need for transparency and disclosure.

“If you’re a brain surgeon and on the weekends you go operate on people’s brains, you absolutely need to get paid for that. Good for you, you know. Go do that, but you need to disclose that,” Kunse said.