26-02-2025
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.
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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
