Posts tagged "2019 News"

Michigan Groups Amassed $1.5 Million In Unresolved Campaign Finance Fees. We Examined Them.

As new Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pushes for better collection of $1.5 million in unpaid campaign finance reporting penalties, an analysis of the outstanding fees shows how difficult the effort for better enforcement under current state law may be. People behind some of the committees that potentially owe the most say there's no way their committees could pay. read more

posted on 06/17/2019

A Top Lawmaker-Turned-Consultant Sent A Message. It Caught The Attention Of Officials, Emails Show.

Before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer decided to end the state's medical marijuana licensing board, an email from a former Senate majority leader referencing a conversation with the board's chair gained the attention of state officials. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network learned of the situation through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests. read more

posted on 06/05/2019

Inside One Of The Most Influential Groups In Lansing

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce publicly weighed in on 28 bills or bill packages during the 2018 lame-duck session. The Legislature agreed with the Chamber on 24 of them. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network and Detroit Free Press columnist Nancy Kaffer partnered to examine the group's influence. read more

posted on 05/30/2019

Who Funded An Overhaul Of Pollution Cleanup Standards? The Lawyer Who Spearheaded It Won't Say.

In a single year, a self-described “lawyer-lobbyist” went from working on behalf of a company accused of poisoning groundwater to writing a law that could weaken Michigan’s standards for pollution cleanup. Citing attorney-client privilege, the lawyer won't disclose who paid him to work on the new law. read more

posted on 05/29/2019

Road To Auto Insurance Overhaul In Michigan Lined With Donors Who Funded Lawmakers’ Campaigns

Groups entrenched in the fight over Michigan’s auto insurance laws combined to spend at least $4.5 million in support of current state officeholders over the last five years alone. Those same officeholders continue to debate this spring what the state’s auto insurance system should look like going forward. read more

posted on 05/17/2019

Michigan's 2018 Election Attracted $324 Million

Michigan’s 2018 election was the most expensive in state history. As voters chose a new governor, picked candidates for every seat in the state Legislature and decided two competitive U.S. House races, money poured in from outside groups, and campaigns raised record amounts. read more

posted on 05/09/2019

How A Court Decision 36 Years Ago Today Still Shines Light On Power And Influence In Lansing

In the early 1980s, dozens of interest groups rose up to fight new regulations for lobbyists in Michigan. The fight led to a court ruling that came down 36 years ago this month. The ruling protected the main provisions in the state's lobby law, the framework of which is still in place today. read more

posted on 05/03/2019

It’s Early. But Groups Have Been Busy Raising Money.

Over the first months of 2019, the 150 top political action committees in Michigan reported raising a combined total of $8.1 million, an increase over the same time period before the 2018 election. Michigan’s four caucus committees, which spend money on races for the state Legislature, were the primary forces behind the fundraising jump, disclosures show. read more

posted on 04/30/2019

Who’s Been Funding Lawmakers’ Personal PACs?

Ten state lawmakers raised more than $30,000 through their own political action committees over the first months of 2019, according to new campaign finance disclosures. Individual contributors gave as much as $40,000 to the leadership PACs, a growing form of fundraising in Michigan. read more

posted on 04/30/2019

SPREADSHEET: Michigan's Top 150 PACs For Jan. 1, 2019, Through April 20, 2019

This spreadsheet lists the 150 political action committees (PACs) in Michigan that reported raising the most money from Jan. 1, 2019 through April 20, 2019. They had to file reports on their fundraising over that time period by April 25, 2019. read more

posted on 04/30/2019

State Officeholders Had 774 Fundraisers In 2018

Elected state officeholders who served in 2018 disclosed having at least 774 fundraisers during the year, according to an analysis of hundreds of campaign finance disclosures. The most popular places to raise money were all within walking distance of the Capitol, and the wide majority of the most popular days for fundraisers were days the Legislature was also in session. read more

posted on 04/25/2019

Michigan’s U.S. House Members Combined To Raise $3.2 Million Over The First Three Months of 2019

After the most expensive U.S. House races in Michigan history in 2018, the winners have already set out on a fast fundraising pace for 2020. On average, the 14 lawmakers’ campaigns brought in about $36,262 per day over the first three months of the year, according to the disclosures. read more

posted on 04/16/2019

The 2018 State Supreme Court Race Was An Oddity. Here’s Why It May Have Played Out That Way.

Michigan’s 2018 race for the Supreme Court was defined by what it lacked: It did not see large, under-the-radar spending by groups acting outside of the candidates’ campaigns. That type of spending has been a staple of Supreme Court races in the state for nearly two decades. read more

posted on 04/11/2019

A $40-Million Michigan Election That Was Inexpensive In Comparison To Races In Other States

Democrat Debbie Stabenow won re-election to the U.S. Senate in a race that attracted about $40 million overall, according to an analysis of independent spending reports and candidate fundraising disclosures. The total may seem like a large one, but it isn't when compared to other competitive U.S. Senate contests in the year 2018. read more

posted on 04/11/2019

Late-Night Lawmaking. A Conference In New Orleans. And A Proposal To Ease Casino Regulations.

As lobbyists for the casino industry increased their spending in Lansing, state lawmakers considered significant changes to Michigan's gaming laws. In the last four months alone, there have late-night votes on a bill to ease regulations covering casinos, vetoes by the governor and undisclosed trips to New Orleans for a gaming conference. read more

posted on 04/04/2019

Cost Of Michigan House Campaigns Rises … Again

Michigan's 2018 races for the state House attracted about $27.6 million, according to MCFN's analysis. It was a record total that was achieved despite the fact the races shared 2018 ballots with expensive campaigns for the state Senate and governor. The most expensive individual 2018 House race cost about $1.5 million, according to the analysis. read more

posted on 03/28/2019

The Most Expensive Fight For The State Senate

At $34.5 million, Michigan's 2018 races for the state Senate attracted more money than they ever had before. New contribution limits and increased competition helped drive up the price tag. But there was also more than $4 million in spending by groups that didn't disclose their donors but occasionally used images of snakes and swamp monsters to attack candidates. read more

posted on 03/21/2019

Some Lawmakers Are Pushing To End The State's Ban On Campaign Giving By Donors Tied To Casinos

A group of state lawmakers has been quietly working to do away with Michigan's 21-year-old ban on state-level campaign contributions by individuals with financial ties to the three Detroit casinos. While supporters of the ban said it was meant to prevent corruption in a highly regulated industry, the lawmakers that want to lift the ban believe it went too far. read more

posted on 03/12/2019

Donors, Dollars And Dark Money: How $93 Million Poured Into The 2018 Campaign For Governor

Michigan’s 2018 race for governor attracted about $93.4 million, and it spurred record spending by groups that can accept unlimited contributions while operating outside of the candidates’ campaigns. Both outcomes point to larger trends: more money in races; and more money coming from spenders that are allegedly “independent” of the candidates. read more

posted on 03/11/2019

In The Race To Be Michigan’s Attorney General, Outside Groups Spent More Than The Candidates

Michigan's 2018 race for attorney general was the closest contest at the top of the ballot and it attracted a record amount of money for an attorney general contest in Michigan. Likewise, it also saw a record amount of spending by groups acting outside of the candidates' campaigns. read more

posted on 03/11/2019

National Voting Rights Group Spent Nearly $1 Million On Michigan’s 2018 Race For Secretary of State

Michigan's 2018 race for secretary of state attracted $3.6 million, according to campaign finance disclosures. About 26 percent of the money came from a national group that spent heavily to benefit Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson. Michigan previously hadn't seen such heavy spending by an out-of-state group in a race for secretary of state. read more

posted on 03/11/2019

How Loopholes Allow Michigan Political Party Funds To Pour Anonymous Dollars Into State Elections

For years, party-connected organizations in Michigan have used legal loopholes to take millions of dollars from undisclosed sources to fund TV ads and mailers that benefit candidates in competitive races, according to a joint investigation by The Detroit News and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The strategy continued in 2018. read more

posted on 03/07/2019

27 State Lawmakers Received At Least $1,000 In Free Food And Drink In 2018, Disclosures Show

Registered lobbyists disclosed buying at least $1,000 in food and drink for 27 different state lawmakers in 2018, according to an analysis of new disclosures. Among the four lawmakers who received the most free food and drink were the incoming speaker of the House and the incoming chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. read more

posted on 02/28/2019

Lame Duck Spurred A Surge In Lobbyist Spending

As state lawmakers sent nearly 400 bills to then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk in the closing weeks of the year, lobbyists upped their efforts in Lansing to influence policy decisions, helping to make 2018 a record year for lobbyist spending, according to state disclosures. Overall, lobbyists reported spending $40.3 million in 2018. read more

posted on 02/27/2019

40 Michigan Families, $56 Million In Contributions

Forty Michigan families and individuals spent a combined $56.5 million on political contributions from the start of 2017 through the end of 2018, according to a new analysis of state and national campaign finance disclosures. Fourteen families or individuals from Michigan spent more than $1 million each, the analysis also found. read more

posted on 02/21/2019

Who Benefited From $11 Million In DeVos Spending?

Members of West Michigan's DeVos family combined to make about $11.3 million in political contributions from the start of 2017 to the end of 2018. The family spent more money on politics ahead of the 2018 election than any other Michigan family, according to an analysis of state and national fundraising disclosures by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. read more

posted on 02/21/2019

Who Funded Gov. Whitmer’s Inauguration?

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s transition organization voluntarily released a list of inauguration sponsors. The list included 182 groups or individuals who fell into sponsorship categories ranging from $100,000 to $1,000. Some of the groups on the list previously supported Whitmer’s opponent in the election, and many of them will be working with state government on upcoming policy decisions. read more

posted on 02/11/2019

Michigan's PACs Saw A Record Jump In Fundraising For The 2018 Election, Collecting $97 Million

Over 2017 and 2018, the state's largest 150 political action committees smashed their past fundraising record for a two-year election cycle. The PACs combined to raise $97 million, which is up 42 percent over the previous high total. Super PACs and PACs connected to individual officeholders had a lot to do with why the 2017-2018 total broke the record. read more

posted on 02/08/2019

Ballot Proposal Campaigns Disclose Their Funders, But 2018 Shows How Little We Actually Know

Michigan considered wide-ranging ballot proposal campaigns in 2017 and 2018, covering topics like redistricting, marijuana and wage requirements. According to an analysis, the wide majority of the money the campaigns and their opponents raised came from nonprofits that didn't have to report their own donors. read more

posted on 01/31/2019

How Money From Big Donors And Super PACs Made Its Way Into Michigan’s 2018 U.S. House Races

Ten political action committees (PACs) combined to spend $17.1 million on Michigan’s U.S. House elections last year, according to a new review of campaign finance disclosures. The 10 PACs' spending amounts to about 20 percent of the $80 million the races attracted overall. read more

posted on 01/24/2019

Michigan’s 2018 Races For The U.S. House Attracted $80 Million, About Double The 2016 Total

Thanks in part to two extremely expensive races, the primary and general election contests for Michigan’s 14 seats in the U.S. House attracted about $80 million, according to candidate fundraising disclosures, independent-spending reports by groups and an analysis of TV advertising data from Kantar Media/CMAG. The 2018 total is double what the same races attracted in 2016: $40 million. read more

posted on 01/22/2019

Which Interest Groups Rank Among The Top Contributors To The Most Michigan Lawmakers?

If giving large campaign checks to state lawmakers boosts a group’s influence in Lansing, there are some groups that stand to have a lot of power in the new legislative session. Five interest groups currently rank among the top 10 contributors to at least one-third of the 2019-2020 Michigan Legislature, according to campaign finance disclosures. read more

posted on 01/15/2019

Outside Groups, Not Candidate Campaigns, Were Behind The Wide Majority Of Attack Ads Last Fall

While candidates were responsible for the wide majority of positive campaign ads that ran last fall, outside groups, like nonprofits and super PACs, were behind the wide majority of negative campaign ads, according to a new analysis of more than 60,000 broadcast ad spots that ran in state races before the November election. read more

posted on 01/09/2019

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