The Clock Is Ticking On Proposal 1 Legislation
Question 1): Here’s what was on the ballot on Nov. 8, 2022 —
TERM LIMITS FOR STATE LEGISLATORS AND FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS
SUMMARY:
Proposal 22-1 would amend the state constitution to change its term limit provisions for state
legislators. Currently, a person cannot be elected more than three times as a state representative
and more than two times as a state senator. The proposal would instead provide that a person
cannot be elected as a state legislator for terms or partial terms totaling more than 12 years,
regardless of whether that time is served in the House or in the Senate. The proposal also would
require certain state elected officials to file an annual financial disclosure report that describes
such things as the official’s assets, liabilities, sources of income, gifts from lobbyists, and other
positions held. Finally, the proposal would indirectly repeal the law that now governs the
assignment of seats in the House of Representatives.
This proposed constitutional amendment would:
• Require members of legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and
attorney general file annual public financial disclosure reports after 2023, including
assets, liabilities, income sources, future employment agreements, gifts, travel
reimbursements, and positions held in organizations except religious, social, and
political organizations.
• Require legislature implement but not limit or restrict reporting requirements.
• Replace current term limits for state representatives and state senators with a 12-year
total limit in any combination between house and senate, except a person elected to
senate in 2022 may be elected the number of times allowed when that person became a
candidate.
Should this proposal be adopted?
[ ] YES
[ ] NO
So, could anything be clearer?
Yet, the Legislature wasted more than nine months resisting taking this issue up, instead concentrating on a partisan agenda pushed through by majority Democrats bent on undoing the major accomplishments of the Gov. Rick Snyder era (2011-2019).
Even as late as this fall, when House Dems announced their priorities. they cited issues like the land equity tax package, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Energy Accountability; and the Reproductive Health Act. Other Democrats complained that issues like paid family leave, auto no fault reform, repealing the “death star,” mental health parity, drive safe legislation, the national popular vote, polluter pay, and utility accountability should also be high priority.
But what about Proposal 1? Fact is, if the Legislature is unable to pass implementation language on the financial disclosure elements in Proposal 1 by the end of the year, anyone in the state would have standing to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to step in. As MIRS newsIetter has pointed out, it’s not clear by the language of last year’s constitutional amendment what it allows the Supreme Court to do, exactly. Would the justices order the Legislature to pass implementation language immediately? Would they go ahead and write their own rules for financial disclosure?
Finally, financial disclosure legislation affecting legislators and statewide executives, implementing the transparency measures of Proposal 1 of 2022, was put on the Senate Oversight Committee’s agenda three weeks ago.
Next, an alternative package of financial disclosure bills was introduced by several House Democrats that includes reporting the assets of candidates and officeholders’ spouses, although it was quickly buried on what is called “Second Reading.” The House package requires that, starting in 2028, spouses and dependents of legislators, candidates and anyone else who has to file disclosure forms must also publicly declare their assets and sources of income. It also includes candidates/members of the state Board of Education and the three elected boards of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.
Answer 1): It must and it will get done, but there are sure to he strenuous complaints about the final product from various reformers and interest groups, as there should be. But whatever is enacted this year can always be amended next year and beyond.
Michigan’s record of sunshine and financial disclosure in state government is a disgrace, and has been for a long time. We have long been one of only two states (Idaho is the other) without such strictures. Recent events involving two former state House Speakers, one of them just sentenced to 55 months in prison for bribery, show how sorely Michigan’s laws are lacking.
Amazingly, nearly half a century ago, in 1974, Common Cause — a national ethics reform organization headed John Gardner, a prominent LBJ cabinet secretary, spearheaded an effort to get Michigan to adopt exactly what is being contemplated now. A monster rally was held in the old Lansing Civic Arena two blocks from the Capitol. Gardner roused the troops, legislators cowered. One of them even went so far as to release all his tax returns to show he had nothing to hide.
But was any law passed? No way. And it’s it’s been that way for nearly 50 years.
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Will Whitmer’s Tweet on the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel continue to haunt her?
Question 2): Three weeks ago, in the wake of the Hamas surprise attack on Israel, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a surprisingly tone-deaf statement in which she didn’t once mention the word “Israel.” Condemnation of her comments was quick and harsh. Critics called the message purposely ambiguous, claiming she seemed to be expressing sympathy for those on one side of the tragedy while simultaneously attempting to appease the other. Realizing her mistake, Whitmer two hours later hastened to ‘clarify’ what she had said, mentioning “Israel” three times. But had the damage been done? Will there be any negative long-term political fall-out for Whitmer?
Answer 2): To those who claim the governor would have been better off saying nothing, well, no, she had to say something. That said, what “communities” was she talking about? What “impact” was she referring to? Could she have been more specific about the “region?” Fact is, Whitmer’s words were what might be expected from U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), a Palestinian-American who in fact issued a statement strikingly similar to Whitmer’s. The governor’s words were senseless. She seemed to care more about not politically offending supporters of the perpetrators of the massacre of innocents in Israel than offering true sympathy and support for our strongest ally in the Middle East. Clarity during dangerous times is required for strong leaders. The fallout from Whitmer’s tweet provides evidence for her detractors that she isn’t ready for the national stage. Sure, Michigan is home to the largest contingent of Arab-Americans outside the Middle East, and they vote overwhelmingly Democratic. She didn’t want to offend them by gojng too far in expressing sympathy for Israel. Problem is, by such virtue-signaling, she invoked “moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel, thereby stamping herself as allied with the ‘progressive’ left-wing of the Democratic Party that is increasingly supportive of Palestine and hostile to Israel.
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Local and state government politicians usually try to stay as far away as possible from Mideast politics as it is a lose-lose proposition.
Dearborn City Council has directed citizens during public commentary period to contact U.S Congress representatives on any issues of foreign policy when the inevitable criticisms of Israel have been argued. Likewise, Governor Whitmer has very little business in Mideast politics unlike a U.S. Congress member – say like Elissa Slotkin or Rashida Tlaib, who both have undoubtedly a personal vested interest in the security of their peoples during a difficult period.
Governor Whitmer appears to be posturing for constituents without a real dog in the fight.
Michigan Senator Sylvia Santana, whose district covers Dearborn, made an enormous blunder by taking unannounced junkets to Israel at the expense of a Jewish-American organization – and then infuriated the Jewish-American community by apologizing for going to Israel.
Both Israel and Hamas have a long history of human rights violations – as found by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the U.N.Human Rights Council. Both Arabs and Jewish communities have been victimized by this conduct.
Michigan Democrats are in a state of internal turmoil over the current Gaza War. The microscopic focus of the press on the Michigan Republican Party and Kristina Karamo’s MAGA adherents is now shifting to Democrats instead. The big question is whether the GOP can capitalize politically on the dissension between Democrats.
Nice comment, Mark.
Well said!
Nice article, as usual Bill, and quite timely.
As for Question 1, the legislature will most likely pass something. A generous grade for what they will pass would be a “D-”, barely meeting the absolute minimal obligations of Prop 22-1. The legislators now, like the ones half a century ago, don’t want to expose, reveal or explain their finances. Some like free lunches, drinks and other perks from lobbyists and others. Some are just lazy. Some are secretive. Some are corrupt and others are just contemptuous of the people. Should they fail to do something, does anyone expect the current Supreme Court of Michigan (SCOMI) to actually do anything? Anything useful that is. These legal beagles pretending to be modern day Solons are the same folks that could not seriously punish the dreadful and reprehensible Judge Tracy Green of the Wayne County Circuit Court, Justice Zahra excluded. With this hanging over the collective heads of the legislature, should we expect them to do more than the absolute minimum?
As for Question 2, I don’t know if she will pay a serious price or not. Your analysis is correct, and your assessment of her reasoning is probably spot on. And I agree with it. But placating you, me, or other readers of The Ballenger Report, is not high on Whitmer’s list of things to do. She knows there is a split in the Democratic Party on the issue of Israel and Hamas and the residents of Gaza, and not just involving Rashida Tlaib and her ilk. The younger the Democrat, the more likely they are to support Palestinians over Israel.
On October 13, 2023, Isaac Shorr wrote in Mediaite: “The militant strain of anti-Semitism on campus is also the cause of average Americans’ increasing misperception of state of play in the Middle East. According to an astonishing new YouGov survey, just 32% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are aware that Hamas is deliberately striking Israeli civilian areas.”
This is supported by the first four paragraphs in Rachel Dobkin’s story in Newsweek on October 19, 2023: “Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, blocked Senator Josh Hawley’s resolution condemning “anti-Israel, pro-Hamas” rhetoric on college campuses.
Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, tried to pass the resolution on Thursday through unanimous consent, but Van Hollen objected, saying that by passing the resolution, the Senate is “smearing all of the students who engaged in these protests,” which he called “wrong.”
The college students’ statements against Israel came after Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history on October 7. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Over 4,000 were killed because of fighting on both sides as of Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
“There are student groups that may have legitimate concerns about…the loss of innocent civilian life in Gaza,” Van Hollen said, adding that “your questioning based on certain remarks made by some students, you’re questioning them all. I object.”
The sentiments in her original statement have some support in the US Senate. It is also supported in numerous stories – too many to mention here without damaging your server – about the campus support for the Hamas terrorists.
As for the Democratic Party as a whole, a July 19, 2023 story from Yasmeen Serhan in Time Magazine states: “This year, for the first time, an annual Gallup survey found that Democrats’ sympathies lie more with Palestinians than Israelis by a margin of 49% to 38%. The survey found that sympathy toward Palestinians among U.S. adults is at a new high of 31%, while the proportion not favoring either side is at a new low of 15%. That’s a remarkable shift from only a decade ago, when sympathy toward Palestinians stood at just 12%. During that same period, sympathy toward Israelis has declined from 64% to 54%.”
With this information, I doubt that she will face serious issues later on. At least not in her own party. As for the rest of the nation, we will see how this plays out over the next few months and the elections of 2024.
Thank you for these insightful comments.
One thing that the Hamas assault has succeeded at was awaking the world that the status quo on the Israel-Palestine situation cannot continue any longer.
Israeli Nobel awardee Yitzhak Rabin gave his life after committing to a peace plan – the Oslo Accords – yet his goal of a lasting final peace in the area was abandoned in favor of conflict.
America cannot stand by and fund the ongoing violence with escalating military aid packages to Israel. The message seems to be is that the Israeli army killing more Palestinians advances the goal of Israeli security. This is nonsense.
Bill, you never cease to put your finger on the hot button issues of the day. Thank you
With Respect to question #1:
– Term limit changes are ho-hum until the corruption of the voting process is cleaned up. Why do incumbents have such a built in advantage? Why can’t we have clear insight into what our politicians think and vote; and why? Light years to go on that front. If voters knew exactly what their elected officials thought of them, I suspect term limits would be passe’. The voters would either limit them or reward them as necessary
– Any financial transparency is appreciated. The Biden family calamity is proof. But anything being currently proposed is way too little, way too late. Why do politicians get to keep their campaign contributions after they’ve run for office a couple times? Why can’t those proceeds instead be directed to the DNC/RNC/Libertarian/etc war-chests to fund future candidates instead of PAC, deep pocket and lobbyist payola, which in my book should be illegal?
With Respect to question #2:
– “. . . invoking ‘moral equivalency’ between Hamas and Israel, . . .” is repugnant
– Unfortunately, half of this type of rhetoric is promulgated by the Jewish community themselves. This is understandable from a small population that has been subjected to all kinds of persecutions; just a small sampling of examples involving, pogroms, expulsions, censures, street executions, extinction attempts, ethnic cleansing, etc, etc, ad infinitum. I just don’t think they (as a community) can always clearly identify those groups hostile vs sympathetic to their cause
– Media (TBR excepted) needs to help educate the populace in this respect. Major failings there
I got a big laugh over the Angela Witwer controversy – where a Cadillac she drives is registered to a public relations firm. Witwer even has a rapper who dedicated a song to her on YouTube (“…….Angela Witwer is putting on a show!”)
Witwer was aiming for a U.S. Congressional bid eventually when good investigative journalism uncovered the conflict of interest issues. Needless to say she will NOT be running for Congress in 2024.
Bill;
In My Opinion……
I always agree with you but the Governor appears to be “untouchable” and there’s no transparency.
The Governor has a lot of personal traveling at public expense without reporting. We need to know more than annual reports.
Thank you for bringing up these questions in The Ballenger Report.
As usual, the legislature will pass and the Governor will sign a “transparency bill” filled with loopholes large enough to drive a truck through. Legislative leaders will always protect the whiners in their caucus. And real reform won’t happen until we have a Governor who will make more then empty promises on the issue and is willing to use the bully pulpit to get something meaningful passed.
But then again, expecting the Governor and the legislature to regulate themselves i like …(fill in your own example)
Human Rights Watch ,Amnesty International and Human Rights Council have about as much “credibility and reliability as the New York Times and CNN .NYT,s reported, without any documentation that Israel attacked a major Hospital, killing hundreds . Accordingly ,when the Truth emerged of the attack, there was no clarification by the Times . The Times,” Media” did succeed however in turning the tragedy into a propaganda victory against Israel. The Terrorists use innocent Civilians as protection ,as reported on The Nightly Desk ),however , the ideology of the main stream News sources appears to down play the Truth .And ,according to a News Poll ,there is a lack of solid support among many Mich. Progressive Democrats for Israel .Re: Review the Michigan Governor’ reply.
Michigan Democrats are going to have a difficult time winning in 2024 at any level unless they learn how to placate rightfully indignant minority groups who have sustained injury politically and in a human rights dimension.
A video of Rep. Haley Stevens dancing around at a synagogue – after hundreds of Jewish and Arab civilians were violently killed – waving a miniature Israeli flag flashing a grim was uploaded to Twitter by a Freep reporter and received tens of thousands of views and angered local Muslims as insensitive as well as pandering to a constituency.
Blacks were tossed under the bus in Michigan redistricting by Democratic Party insiders.
On a national level, both blacks and Hispanics are furious at Biden on his administration’s positions on immigration with respect to the Southern border as it impacts Haitians and others – with conditions in ICE detention centers utterly reprehensible.
One recent poll showed RFK, Jr only 13% points behind Biden running as an independent. The Green Party has received an uptick in support from Arab-Americans as a viable alternative to Democrats.
The recent diatribes by Rep. Tlaib and State Rep. Abraham Aiyash against the Biden administration are well-taken. As are the AOC comments on AIPAC.
The Michigan Republican Party has one of the most diverse leadership of any political parties in the U.S.
The chairmanship and several vice-chairs are black and we have three Arab Muslims holding vice-chair positions. Dearborn Rola Makki won her seat in a contested convention vote with 59% of the state convention delegate vote. We have had Hispanics and Jewish-Americans hold leadership positions as well in the state party organization.
The Michigan Democrats current problems are a welcome diversion for the undue attention given to Kristina Karamo and the MIGOP leadership.