State Rep. Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), chair of the House Ethics and Oversight Committee, testifies on House Bills 5583 and 5586 on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the House Office Building in Lansing.
LANSING, Mich., Sept. 25, 2024 — A bill part of the Bring Reforms in Integrity, Transparency and Ethics (BRITE) Act package passed out of the House today. House Bill 5583, sponsored by state Rep. Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), would amend the Michigan Campaign Finance Act to allow the Secretary of State to apply to Ingham County Circuit Court for injunctive relief for alleged violations of the act. This will allow the Secretary of State to act on real-time campaign finance violations and abuses.
“This is a bright day for the state of Michigan,” Byrnes said. “By passing this bill, we are strengthening our state’s ethics and transparency. The Secretary of State will now be able to act against violations to the Michigan Campaign Finance Act in real time, and will hopefully be able to stop violations in their tracks.”
This bill is part of a seven-bill package known as the BRITE Act, which aims to close Michigan’s many loopholes in transparency and oversight laws. Other bills in the package are:
- House Bills 5580 and 5582 would require that 527 and 501(c)(4) nonprofits that are affiliated with state officials and candidate committees register their accounts with the Secretary of State.
- HB 5581 and HB 5584 would limit the value of permissible gifts for public officials and update which officials and employees are “lobbyable”.
- HB 5585 would require public officials to disclose a list of all tickets they received for concerts, sporting events and other entertainment that are gifted by another person, as well as require state officials to disclose travel that is paid for by non-lobbyists.
- HB 5586 prohibits the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state or a state senator or representative from engaging in certain lobbying activities for one year after the last date of their term of office.
“With the passage of HB 5583, I am hopeful that the other bills in this package will also receive a vote,” Byrnes said. “I will continue to advocate for the passage of this bill package in its entirety. It’s time that Michigan politics and campaigning is more transparent.”
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