Michigan Lawmakers Tackle Earmark Transparency and Economic Development
Public scrutiny of legislative earmarks, particularly for economic development projects, has increased. Following the signing of the state budget, Michigan lawmakers are focusing on earmark transparency legislation.
A compromise during the budgetary process involved altering state Senate rules to require lawmakers to publicly disclose spending items they requested in the budget before voting on them. The Republican-led state House of Representatives had adopted a similar policy earlier in the year and criticized the Democratic-controlled state Senate for not acting as quickly.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) stated that the result still moved the budget process in the right direction, making them "closer to making this more transparent" and expressing excitement about it.
Anthony sponsors a bill to codify some of these earmark reforms into state law.
Author's summary: Michigan lawmakers work on earmark transparency legislation.