2024 Michigan Elections: Campaign Updates, Polls, Important Dates, and Voter Information

The Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has tightened financial disclosure rules for state officials, requiring them to provide more detailed information on their personal finances. This decision comes after a 2022 ballot proposal approved by Michigan voters and later written into state statute by legislators. The new rules require officeholders to disclose assets, liabilities, income sources, future employment agreements, gifts, travel reimbursements, and more.

Critics had previously pointed out loopholes in the disclosure requirements, allowing filers to obscure monetary values and other information about income sources and assets held by spouses. In response to a request from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Nessel concluded that additional identifying information about income sources, such as names and addresses associated with stock options or other unearned income, can be required.

The opinion also allows for more specific disclosure of lobbyist gifts or charitable donations made on behalf of officeholders. This includes making officials disclose all gifts legally required to be reported by lobbyists, even if the lobbyist failed to do so in their own reports, along with any charitable contributions made by a lobbyist in lieu of a gift to a lawmaker.

Benson, in a statement responding to Nessel’s opinion, expressed support for the new disclosure rules, stating that they provide clarity and certainty about transparency and accountability in the state. She emphasized the importance of limiting the influence of lobbying and financial interests while enforcing disclosure and ethics requirements.