Statement of Secretary Benson and Attorney General Nessel on House passage of legislation to strengthen Michigan campaign finance laws

Today, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel made the following statements regarding House passage of House Bill 5583, part of the Bringing Reforms in Integrity, Transparency and Ethics (BRITE) Act. Earlier this year, Secretary Benson and Attorney General Nessel testified before the Michigan House Committee on Ethics and Oversight in support of the BRITE Act:

"The citizens of Michigan deserve transparent, ethical leaders and a government that works for them." Secretary Benson said. "Today's passage of an important component of the BRITE Act will strengthen Michigan's standards of good governance. With real-time campaign finance enforcement authority, the Bureau of Elections could ask the court to immediately stop criminal behavior, rather than wait for a months-long process to play out. I will proudly continue my work with Attorney General Nessel and our partners in the Legislature to pass the other provisions of the BRITE Act to further improve the ethics and transparency laws in our state."

"Powerful interests have exploited gaps in our campaign finance laws to influence elections and public policy for far too long," said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. "House Bill 5583 is a critical step toward addressing this issue by granting the Secretary the power to seek immediate court injunctions against campaign finance violations. I applaud the House for passing this bill, and I will continue to advocate for other bills in the BRITE Act legislative package. By strengthening our laws, we can restore public trust in our government and ensure that elected officials are accountable to the people they serve, not lobbyists or donors with deep pockets."

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