Bill Text: MI HB4645 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Public employees and officers: ethics; financial disclosure report; require candidates for the office of state senator to file. Creates new act.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 31-13)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-09-05 - Referred To Committee On Ways And Means, With Substitute (h-6) [HB4645 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2019-HB4645-Introduced.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL No. 4645

 

 

May 21, 2019, Introduced by Reps. Huizenga, Sabo, Afendoulis, Brann, Hoadley, Gay-Dagnogo, Wittenberg, Witwer, Anthony, Brixie, Filler, Calley, LaGrand, Alexander, Albert, Byrd, Cherry, Chirkun, Cynthia Johnson, Robinson, Cambensy, Shannon, Pagan, Kuppa, Liberati, Rabhi, Tyrone Carter, Bolden, Warren, Neeley, Jones, Lasinski, Guerra, Elder, Koleszar, Meerman, Marino, Schroeder, Kahle, Mueller, Greig, Garrett, Peterson and Yaroch and referred to the Committee on Elections and Ethics.

 

     A bill to regulate political activity; to require candidates

 

for the office of state senator to file financial statements and

 

reports; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state

 

officers and agencies; to impose fees; to prescribe penalties and

 

civil sanctions; and to provide remedies.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"candidate for state senator financial disclosure act".

 

     Sec. 2. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Bureau of elections" means the bureau provided for by

 

section 32 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.32.

 

     (b) "Candidate" means that term as defined in section 3 of the


Michigan campaign finance act, 1976 PA 388, MCL 169.203.

 

     (c) "Candidate for office" means a candidate for the office of

 

state senator.

 

     (d) "Earned income" means salaries, tips, or other

 

compensation, and net earnings from self-employment for the taxable

 

year.

 

     (e) "Immediate family of an individual" means a dependent

 

child or spouse of that individual or a person claimed by that

 

individual or that individual's spouse as a dependent for federal

 

income tax purposes.

 

     (f) "Income" means money or any thing of value received, or to

 

be received as a claim on future services, whether in the form of a

 

fee, salary, expense, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness,

 

interest, dividend, royalty, rent, capital gain, or any other form

 

of recompense that is considered income under the internal revenue

 

code of 1986, 26 USC 1 to 9834.

 

     (g) "Principal residence" means that term as defined under

 

section 7dd of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL

 

211.7dd.

 

     Sec. 3. If an individual is a candidate for state office and

 

has not already filed a report under subsection (1) covering the

 

preceding calendar year, that individual shall file with the bureau

 

of elections a report that meets the requirements of section 4

 

within 30 days after the later of May 1 or the date on which the

 

individual forms a candidate committee as a candidate for state or

 

local office under section 21 of the Michigan campaign finance act,

 

1976 PA 388, MCL 169.221.


     Sec. 4. (1) Except as provided in section 5, a report required

 

under section 3 must include a complete statement of all of the

 

following:

 

     (a) The full name, mailing address, and occupation of the

 

individual filing the report.

 

     (b) The name of each member of the immediate family of the

 

individual filing the report.

 

     (c) The name, address, and principal activity of each employer

 

of the individual and of each member of the immediate family of the

 

individual filing the report during the calendar year covered by

 

the report.

 

     (d) Both of the following, as applicable:

 

     (i) The source and type of earned income received during the

 

preceding calendar year by the individual filing the report if the

 

total earned income from that source equals $5,000.00 or more

 

during that calendar year.

 

     (ii) The source and type of earned income received during the

 

preceding calendar year by each member of the immediate family of

 

the individual filing the report if the total earned income from

 

that source equals $5,000.00 or more during that calendar year.

 

     (e) The source and type of all other income not reported under

 

subdivision (d) that is received during the preceding calendar year

 

by the individual filing the report or a member of the immediate

 

family of that individual if the total income from that source

 

equals $5,000.00 or more during that calendar year.

 

     (f) Excluding a primary residence, the address of each parcel

 

of real property held during the preceding calendar year by the


individual filing the report or a member of the immediate family of

 

that individual if the real property had a fair market value of

 

$50,000.00 or more at any time the real property was held during

 

the preceding calendar year. An individual filing a report may

 

exclude the street number of a parcel of real property listed under

 

this subdivision.

 

     (g) A description of any stocks, bonds, commodities, futures,

 

shares in mutual funds, or other forms of securities held by the

 

individual filing the report or a member of the immediate family of

 

that individual during the preceding calendar year, if the total

 

aggregate value of a security had a fair market value of $10,000.00

 

or more at any time the security was held during the preceding

 

calendar year.

 

     (h) A description of any interest in 1 of the following types

 

of assets, if the interest in the asset has a value of $10,000.00

 

or more at any time the asset was held during the preceding

 

calendar year:

 

     (i) A qualified or nonqualified annuity.

 

     (ii) A benefit under a qualified or nonqualified plan of

 

deferred compensation.

 

     (iii) An account in, or benefit payable under, any pension,

 

profit-sharing, stock bonus, or other qualified retirement plan.

 

     (iv) An individual retirement account or trust.

 

     (v) A benefit under a plan or arrangement that is established

 

under section 401, 403, 408, 408A, or 457 of the internal revenue

 

code of 1986, 26 USC 401, 403, 408, 408A, and 457, or a similar

 

provision of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 1 to 9834.


     (i) The identity of all compensated positions held by the

 

individual filing the report or a member of the immediate family of

 

that individual during the preceding calendar year as an officer,

 

director, member, trustee, partner, proprietor, representative,

 

employee, or consultant of a corporation, limited liability

 

company, limited partnership, partnership, or other business

 

enterprise; of a nonprofit organization; of a labor organization;

 

or of an educational or other institution other than this state, if

 

the total compensation received from a position equals $1,000.00 or

 

more during that calendar year. A position reported under this

 

subdivision must include the title of the position, the name of the

 

entity within which the position exists, and the principal activity

 

of the entity.

 

     (j) If the individual filing the report or a member of the

 

immediate family of that individual was required during the

 

previous calendar year to register as a lobbyist or lobbyist agent

 

under section 7 of 1978 PA 472, MCL 4.417, the name, address, and

 

principal activity of all persons who gave compensation to or

 

reimbursed the individual or immediate family member for lobbying.

 

As used in this subdivision, "immediate family" includes the parent

 

of an individual and the spouse of a child of an individual.

 

     (k) A description of any interest the individual filing the

 

report or a member of the immediate family of that individual has

 

in a legal entity that conducts business in this state, if the

 

interest has a book value of $10,000.00 or more, unless the entity

 

has shares that are listed or traded over the counter or on an

 

organized exchange.


     (2) Information an individual is required to report under this

 

section includes information with respect to the holdings of and

 

the income from a trust, blind trust, or other financial

 

arrangement from which income is received by, or with respect to

 

which a beneficial interest in principal or income is held by, an

 

individual required to file a report under this section or an

 

immediate family member of the individual. As used in this

 

subsection:

 

     (a) "Beneficial interest" includes, but is not limited to, the

 

interest in a trust of a qualified trust beneficiary or a trust

 

beneficiary as those terms are defined in section 7103 of the

 

estates and protected individuals code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.7103.

 

     (b) "Blind trust" means a qualified blind trust as defined in

 

5 CFR 2634.403.

 

     Sec. 5. An individual filing a report under section 3 may omit

 

any of the following:

 

     (a) Information an individual is required to report under the

 

Michigan campaign finance act, 1976 PA 388, MCL 169.201 to 169.282.

 

     (b) An item otherwise required to be reported under section

 

4(1)(f) or (g) if all of the following apply:

 

     (i) The item represents the sole financial interest and

 

responsibility of a member of the immediate family of the

 

individual filing the report about which the individual filing the

 

report does not have actual knowledge.

 

     (ii) The item is not in any way, past or present, derived from

 

the income, assets, or activities of the individual filing the

 

report.


     (iii) The individual filing the report does not derive, or

 

expect to derive, financial benefit from the item.

 

     (c) An item that concerns a spouse who is living separate and

 

apart from the individual filing the report with the intention of

 

terminating the marriage or maintaining a legal separation.

 

     (d) An item that concerns income or obligations of the

 

individual filing the report arising from dissolution of his or her

 

marriage or a permanent legal separation from his or her spouse.

 

     (e) Compensation from a publicly held corporation that has

 

shares that are listed or traded over the counter or on an

 

organized exchange paid to a business owned by the individual

 

filing the report or in which the individual filing the report has

 

an interest, if the report under section 4 includes a complete

 

statement of the identity and value of that business.

 

     (f) Benefits received under the social security act, chapter

 

531, 49 Stat 620.

 

     Sec. 6. The bureau of elections shall do all of the following:

 

     (a) Prepare and make available appropriate forms and

 

instructions for the reports required by this act.

 

     (b) Receive reports required by this act.

 

     (c) As soon as practicable, but not later than the end of the

 

business day on which a report required to be filed under this act

 

is received, make the report or all of the contents of the report

 

available without charge to the public on the internet at a single

 

website established and maintained by the secretary of state, and

 

not later than the third business day following the day on which

 

the report is received, make the report available for public


inspection and reproduction during regular business hours.

 

     (d) Promulgate rules and issue declaratory rulings to

 

implement this act under the administrative procedures act of 1969,

 

1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

 

     (e) Conduct investigations as necessary to determine whether

 

there is reason to believe that a violation of this act occurred.

 

The bureau of elections shall conduct an investigation under the

 

administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to

 

24.328.

 

     Sec. 7. (1) A citizen of this state may file a complaint with

 

the bureau of elections alleging a violation of this act. If it

 

receives a complaint, the bureau of elections shall investigate the

 

allegations as provided in section 6.

 

     (2) If the bureau of elections determines after an

 

investigation that there is reason to believe a violation of this

 

act occurred, the bureau of elections shall forward the results of

 

that investigation to the attorney general for enforcement of this

 

act. However, if the attorney general is the subject of the

 

complaint and the bureau of elections determines after an

 

investigation that there is reason to believe that the attorney

 

general violated this act, the bureau of elections shall instead

 

forward the results of the investigation to the prosecuting

 

attorney for Ingham County for enforcement of this act.

 

     (3) The attorney general shall enforce this act against an

 

individual who violates this act.

 

     Sec. 8. (1) An individual who fails to file a report as

 

required under this act shall pay a late filing fee of not more


than $5,000.00, determined as follows:

 

     (a) Twenty-five dollars for each of the first 10 business days

 

that the report remains unfiled.

 

     (b) Fifty dollars for each business day after the first 10

 

business days that the report remains unfiled.

 

     (2) If an individual required to file a report under this act

 

knowingly files an incomplete or inaccurate report, the individual

 

is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than

 

$10,000.00.

 

     (3) A default in the payment of a fee or civil fine due or

 

ordered under this act, or an installment of the fee or fine, may

 

be remedied by any means available under the revised judicature act

 

of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.101 to 600.9947.

 

     Enacting section 1. This act takes effect May 1, 2020.

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