Last week, Michigan Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson unveiled the Michigan Transparency Network (MiTN “Mitten”), the
state’s new online personal financial disclosure system that requires elected
officials, candidates, and their spouses to publicly report details of their
finances for the first time.
“This week is Sunshine Week, when we focus on ethics in government, shine a light on dark money in politics, and prevent public corruption,” Benson said. “Transparency in government is one of my top priorities, and this new online system is a strong step forward toward more open and accessible leadership. I will continue to work with partners in the Legislature to enact meaningful ethics reforms to make Michigan’s government even more accountable to the people we serve.”
In 2022, Michigan voters adopted Proposal 1, establishing personal financial disclosure requirements under the state constitution. Prior to the passage of Proposal 1, Michigan was one of only two states that did not require elected officials to disclose their finances to the public. Implementing legislation for Proposal 1 requires the Bureau of Elections to create and maintain an online system for these reports.
Under the new laws, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state senators, and state representatives are required to file financial disclosure reports with MiTN. Candidates for these positions must also file reports. A limited amount of financial information for the spouses of officials and candidates must also be reported. The deadline to file reports is April 15, 2024, for currently serving public officers and May 15, 2024, for candidates.
The law requires reporting for 13 categories of financial information, including employers and earned income, assets, securities and investments, and financial interests with state contracts. Currently serving public officials must report their interactions with lobbyists.
The Bureau of Elections will send communications to those who are required to file reports and will be hosting training sessions for using the new system in the coming days.
All reports will be available to the public online along with information about who must file, what needs to be disclosed, and key dates.
Later this year, MiTN will be upgraded to a consolidated reporting system that will make personal financial disclosure, campaign finance, lobbying and legal defense fund information publicly available in one convenient, easy-to-use web portal.
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