An official with the campaign to ban Michigan electric utilities and major state contractors from giving money to political leaders said Monday that he’s confident the proposal’s backers will have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
The development could set off an intense fight across the state, as the policy would cap the flow of cash from Michigan political behemoths, like DTE Energy and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and groups connected to them.
Sean McBrearty, a co-chairman of the steering committee for Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, said the group has nearly 100,000 more signatures than it needs to make the Nov. 3 ballot and has until May 27 to submit its petitions.
“We’re beginning to plan for turning in our signatures,” McBrearty said.
To qualify for the ballot, Michiganders for Money Out of Politics would need 356,958 valid petition signatures from voters. If that threshold is met, the Legislature would then have the chance to accept or reject the proposal. If the Legislature rejected it, it would go on the ballot. Lawmakers could also put an alternative and competing measure on the ballot.
Generally, committees collect large amounts of extra signatures to provide a cushion for petitions deemed invalid.
The proposal aims to amend state campaign finance law to prohibit political contributions from monopoly utilities, such as DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, and businesses with state government contracts worth more than $250,000.
That would include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which contracts with the state for Medicaid and state employee health insurance and is the state’s largest health insurer. Blue Cross has a political action committee that’s a frequent contributor to lawmakers and statewide elected officials. Its state PAC spent $546,843 in 2024.
DTE’s PAC spent $264,900 in 2024. A nonprofit organization connected to DTE that handed out contributions to groups tied to officeholders spent $3.5 million in 2024. The new proposal attempts to bar those types of expenditures going forward.
The proposal would also attempt to shine light on money from secret sources — or so-called dark money — in Michigan politics. Under current law, only groups that run ads expressly telling people how to vote have to report their donors. Michiganders for Money Out of Politics would expand the disclosure requirements to ads that clearly identify candidates.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce, an organization that advocates on behalf of businesses, has contended the proposal silences the voices of job providers while giving others, like labor unions, a free pass.
“Efforts to restrict free speech have repeatedly been deemed unacceptable — and this is no different,” the Michigan Chamber said in a past statement. “Michiganders deserve fair, open debate on issues that impact every community, every business and every worker in our state, not selective censorship that shuts out the voices of those who create jobs, drive economic growth and invest in our communities.”
Michiganders for Money Out of Politics has reported raising about $2.6 million. The group received $900,000 from the Massachusetts-based progressive nonprofit organization All Hands on Deck Network and $645,000 from the California-based Tides Foundation, which funds thousands of social justice causes, according to its website.
The campaign has recently hired the progressive communications firm Feldman Strategies.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Bid to ban utility, state contractor giving plans to submit petitions
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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