Latest news with #HouseBill4052
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Far-right member, Democratic socialist come together to pass bills in Michigan House
Lawmakers in the Michigan House passed a pair of bills Tuesday prohibiting themselves from entering into nondisclosure agreements, a practice that has come under scrutiny following lawmakers agreeing to keep secret details of large economic development projects that could receive state funding. House Bill 4052 introduced by Republican state Rep. Steve Carra of Three Rivers would prohibit members of the Michigan Legislature and their legislative staff from entering into a nondisclosure agreement "regarding any work done in that member's legislative capacity." It passed 80-28 in the Michigan House with bipartisan support. House Bill 4053 introduced by Democratic state Rep. Dylan Wegela of Garden City defines a nondisclosure agreement as one prohibiting the public release or discussion of the contract's terms. Wegela's bill passed 91-17. "This legislation is simple," said Carra in a speech on the House floor Wednesday. Lawmakers have a duty, he said, to be transparent when weighing how to spend taxpayers' money. Carra — part of the far-right House Freedom Caucus — and Wegela — a Democratic socialist — have both blasted corporate subsidies championed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to lure companies to Michigan. State lawmakers and economic development officials have approved state funding to prepare large manufacturing sites and awarded grants to companies that create jobs in the state. In recent years, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation has shepherded deals with Ford and other companies to locate electric vehicle battery plant projects in Michigan. Carra and Wegela call the funding a corporate handout, and they teamed up on the nondisclosure legislation as a way to change the process the state uses to land deals with companies eyeing Michigan to locate or expand. "The current practice is that in order to learn about the full scope of a project legislators need to sign NDAs and then doing so traps legislators in a code of silence around said projects," Wegela said in a floor speech Wednesday. Michigan Policy: A guide to Michigan's new paid sick leave law Michigan Economic Development Corporation spokesperson Otie McKinley said the agency finds that those looking to invest in Michigan often require nondisclosure agreements to share financial and proprietary information. For years, lawmakers have called for greater transparency in the process used by Whitmer's administration for negotiating massive taxpayer-funded economic development deals, saying that by the time the projects come to them for a vote, they're little more than a rubber stamp. The bipartisan coalition that once supported Whitmer's economic development approach has fractured but competing plans for overhauling the current system failed to cross the finish line in the last legislative session. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@ or 313-296-5743. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bills would ban nondisclosure agreements in Lansing
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan House approves bipartisan plan barring lawmakers from signing nondisclosure agreements
On Feb. 25, 2025 State Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) speaks in favor of two bills aiming to ban state lawmakers from signing nondisclosure agreements. | Kyle Davidson The Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday moved forward on a set of bills to block state lawmakers and their staff from signing nondisclosure agreements based on information they obtained through their official capacity after years of political tension over economic development deals and severance packages. House Bills 4052 and 4053, introduced by state Reps. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) would not apply to any agreements signed before the bills take effect, but will invalidate any future agreements alongside any agreements that are amended, extended or renewed should the policies become law. Members of the House voted 80-28 in support of House Bill 4052 and 91-17 in support of House Bill 4053, with Republicans offering their full support for each policy. The bills now move to the Senate floor for further action. 'This is legislation that I think should make it all the way across the finish line. This is common sense, bipartisan, broad support, from me being the chair of the [Michigan] Freedom Caucus to Representative Wegela being a Democratic socialist and in between,' Carra told the Michigan Advance after the bills passed. Nondisclosure agreements have been a concern in Lansing for years, with Republicans criticizing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2021 for including confidentiality clauses in severance agreements with officials including former Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon. However, most of these concerns have been focused on transparency around economic incentives with some lawmakers working on a package of bills aimed at attracting out-of-state businesses to Michigan signing nondisclosure agreements in late 2021. Similar concerns escalated into campaign issues during the 2024 election when Republicans accused U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, a former state senator, of signing nondisclosure agreements in connection with the electric vehicle battery plant in Mecosta County. The controversial site is owned by Gotion Inc., the U.S.-owned subsidiary of Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion. The project received more than $700 million in state tax incentives. The Detroit News reported Slotkin and Hertel signed those agreements with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership which serves as the state's marketing arm as well as its lead economic agency. According to the Detroit News, other lawmakers who have signed nondisclosure agreements include former House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Farwell), former Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake), former House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit), former Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall. However, Hall argues he is no longer subject to the agreement. On the House floor, Wegela argued House Bill 4052 and 4053 are fundamental in the role of a lawmaker, tellings reporters the legislation levels the playing field for lawmakers who don't want to sign nondisclosure agreements to be getting the same amount of information from the state Economic Development Corporation as those who do. 'Over the last several years, we have seen the increasing use of NDAs around projects that give millions of public tax dollars to multimillion and multibillion dollar corporations. It is important for us to remember that these are public dollars and that we are public officials, and that the public has a right to know how their money is being spent,' Wegela said. 'The current practice is that in order to learn about the full scope of a project, legislators need to sign an NDA, and then doing so traps legislators in a cone of silence around said project. These nondisclosure agreements stop us representatives from fully and transparently communicating with our constituents and this practice has to end.' The Michigan Economic Development Corporation did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication. Carra and Wegela's bills are one of many efforts championed by Hall as part of his ethics and transparency plan. Other proposals include new rules for legislative spending initiative requests and efforts to ban state lawmakers from lobbying out of state while in office and from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office. It also includes a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote to pass legislation during the lame duck period, which begins in November on the even numbered years after legislative elections. It's known as a lame duck period because a lawmaker has either won reelection, or an opponent or successor has been elected. Hall has also expanded the power of the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Twp.), granting the panel subpoena power and expanding its purview with six subcommittees focused on weaponization of the government; the child welfare system; corporate subsidies and state investments; public health and food security; homeland security and foreign influence; and state and local public assistance programs. While Reps. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) and Denise Mentzer (D-Mt. Clemens) sought to tie bar House Bill 4052 and House Bill 4053 to the Senate Bills 1 and 2, the Senate's effort to expand the state's Freedom of Information Act to the governor, lieutenant governor and the Legislature, but both amendments failed. Senate Bills 1 and 2 passed the Senate in January, but Hall (R-Richland Twp.) previously declared them 'dead' and 'a very low priority.' 'We have a clear choice. We can stand for an open, honest government, or we can cling to a system that protects those who fear transparency. While, [House Bill 4052] takes an important step in prohibiting nondisclosure agreements for legislators and their staff, true transparency demands that we go further,' Morgan said. 'Michigan remains one of the few states where the Legislature and the governor's office are exempt from public records requests. Taxpayers deserve to know how their government operates and FOIA is the tool that guarantees that access,' he said. When asked about the future of the nondisclosure agreement ban, Rosie Jones, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said they would take a look. 'That said, FOIA is the gold standard for government transparency, and the House has been sitting on those important, bipartisan, bills for almost a month,' Jones said.
