April 21, 2021 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com
A local lawmaker has announced a plan that seeking to improve ethics and transparency in Lansing.
State Representative Ann Bollin on Tuesday announced a sweeping, bipartisan reform plan for state government officials. The Brighton Township Republican, who chairs the House Elections and Ethics Committee, called the ethical standards in Michigan âdisgracefully lowâ and that the time for real change is overdue.
Some of the reforms are already moving through the state legislature, including changes to lame-duck sessions and the expansion of the Freedom of Information Act. New reforms potentially forthcoming include gift restrictions, lobbying disclosures, and new penalties for state legislators who fail to show up for the job or act unethically. It also establishes permanent, independent ethics committees to investigate complaints and ensure compliance.
The policy is expected to go into effect Monday.
The Senate’s new policy extends protections to visitors, such as constituents, lobbyists, vendors, contractors, reporters and anyone that is on or within Senate property.
That makes senators or staffers subject to disciplinary action if visitors are harassed and file complaints with the Senate Business Office.
“It may not completely solve everything, but I think the goal is to obviously make improvements and to get us further towards a goal,” Chang said. “Ultimately, you can’t completely change a culture from policy, but we hope that it ll be much improved.”
The new policy also spells out the process to report discrimination or sexual harassment. The Senate Business Office has created a flowchart to explain all the steps, which includes a complaint investigation by the director of the office.
Ex-GOP director vows to lead recall effort against legislators who push through election bills fox17online.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fox17online.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lansing The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Michigan House revealed a plan Tuesday to institute wide-ranging government ethics reforms, targeting policies that have been ranked worst nationally for transparency.
At least some of the bills are proposing fundamental changes for lobbying and disclosure laws, which have been agreed on by House members on both sides of the aisle. They will be introduced later this week and discussed in committee beginning next week.
If all of them became law, they would alter how Lansing operates, providing additional oversight, de-emphasizing the so-called lame duck period and changing the House process for deciding when bills take effect. Similar reforms have been debated in Michigan for years.
Whitmer: Michigan Supreme Court, Legislature partly to blame for COVID-19 surge Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Shut your mouth! : Maxine Waters scolds Jim Jordan in Fauci subcommittee hearing
Replay Video UP NEXT
LANSING Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on NBC s Meet the Press Sunday the recent surge in coronavirus cases that has made Michigan a national outlier is partly the result of a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key law she has used to fight the pandemic.
It was a departure from statements Whitmer made immediately following the October ruling, when she said she mostly retained powers related to public health measures but would require legislative approval for other measures, such as extending unemployment insurance benefits and allowing local governments to hold their public meetings remotely. Also, Whitmer in recent months has eased coronavirus restrictions voluntarily not in response to court rulings despite rising case numbers.