This post was written and reported by contributor Dawn R. Wolfe through our Daily Kos freelance program.
Michigan’s Republicans have lost their ability to gerrymander voting districts. They have lost every top office, from governor to secretary of state. But before they lose their choke hold on the state’s government, they plan to give one last parting gift to corporate donors and others seeking to influence Michigan elections—a bill that would shield the identity of donors to “dark money” groups.
That gift is in the form of Senate Bill 1176, which according to the bill’s text would “... prohibit public agencies from requiring certain nonprofit entities to disclose personal information of their members, supporters, volunteers, and donors in certain circumstances.”
According to a Nov. 16 report in the Bridge, Senate Bill 1176 was introduced less than 48 hours after Democrats outperformed Republicans at the polls on Election Day. The bill is sponsored by incoming State Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, who according the Bridge report said, “donors may be discouraged from giving to nonprofits if they believe they would be identified without their permission.”
In other words, private citizens would not have the right to know what causes or candidates they may be supporting when they choose where to spend their money. This in a state that has already earned an “F” in transparency from the Center for Public Integrity.
Campaign finance experts, according to the Bridge report, say the bill would make it harder to track foreign attempts to influence Michigan’s elections. The report quotes Anna Massoglia, a researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics, who calls the bill, “really dangerous.”
“Especially with the threat of foreign influence being such a big issue right now, it would be extremely difficult to tell whether someone was a legitimate donor in the U.S. or someone outside of the U.S.,” she said.
This year, the Trump administration’s IRS announced that it will not require politically oriented nonprofits, which fall under section 501(c) of the tax code, to report their large donors in tax returns. Any attempt at transparency is now up to the states.
Under Shirkey’s bill, Michigan officials wouldn’t be allowed to provide voters with that transparency. Many of these nonprofits are funded by the kinds of corporate money that have become increasingly problematic to voters.
Senator Shirkey’s office did not respond to Daily Kos’s request for comment on this story. Liz Boyd, the spokeswoman for Secretary of State-Elect Jocelyn Benson, had this to say:
“Transparency was among Jocelyn Benson's campaign priorities for good reason. Michigan is last among states when it comes to disclosure. Given that a majority supported her priorities, it's our hope lawmakers would work together to take us from worst to first in government accountability. Unfortunately, this bill goes in the wrong direction by exempting dark money contributions that fund independent expenditures from disclosure.”
The Michigan legislature will begin its lame duck session on Nov. 27. Senate Bill 1176 is currently in the Committee on Michigan Competitiveness. Members of the committee, their districts, and links to their contact information are listed here. Residents of Michigan’s 16th State Senate district can contact Senator Shirkey’s office at 517-373-5932 or MikeShirkey@senate.mi.gov.
Dawn Wolfe is a freelance writer and journalist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you‘d like to help support more stories like this through our freelance program, contribute here.