Sponsor, lawyers and staff dispute which Invest in My Kids filing triggers the board’s 30‑day deadline

Mister Bridal, an attorney for Invest in My Kids, told the Board of State Canvassers during public comment that the sponsor withdrew an earlier petition and submitted a revised proposal on June 16 and that the board therefore missed a statutory 30‑day deadline to approve or reject the new submission.

Bridal said the group “we withdraw the petition and resubmitted a version” on June 16 and that, from that date forward, the only proposal before the board was the June 16 version. He urged the board to “correct its noncompliance with the statute by acting today to affirmatively approve the previously approved statement, and the form of the petition,” saying the bureau had indicated the form has “no issues.”

Eric Doster, representing Small Business for a Better Michigan, disputed Bridal’s account in public comment and said sponsors who withdraw and then resubmit petitions bear responsibility for the resulting procedural consequences. “When Invest in My Kids filed its new petition on June 16, why didn't they contact the Bureau of Elections that a new announcement with a new public comment period had not yet been issued?” Doster asked. He urged the board not to allow petition sponsors to “engage in gamesmanship.”

Acting director (Deputy Director) of the Bureau of Elections (speaking for bureau staff) provided a timeline the board requested. The acting director said the bureau received an initial petition on June 4 and on June 10 posted a public comment request. The bureau received an email on June 16 in which the sponsor wrote “we withdraw the petition and resubmitted a version” and later that day submitted a second version staff treated as the operative filing. The bureau posted a meeting agenda on June 23 including a draft 100‑word summary; the board met June 27 and the board later rescinded its approval of summary language at the July 10 meeting and instructed staff to restart the process and treat July 10 as a new filing date. The bureau posted the July 2 version on July 14 and set a public comment period that closes July 21 and said it plans to take the item up at the board’s July 31 meeting.

The acting director told board members that, depending on which date the board treats as the operative submission, the 30‑day approval deadline would differ: 30 days from July 2 is August 1; 30 days from July 10 is August 9. The bureau recommended scheduling board consideration when the public comment period closes so the public sees the version the bureau will present.

Why it matters: the board’s statutory duty to approve or reject a 100‑word summary of a proposed constitutional amendment within 30 days affects when the public may comment and when the petition proceeds toward circulation or certification. The parties disagree about which submission started the clock, and the bureau told the board it will post the revised materials and bring the item back at the next noticed meeting.

Board action and next steps: the bureau said it will continue the public comment process and present the posted July 2 version at the July 31 meeting (as the bureau described in its timeline). The board did not take a final vote on the Invest in My Kids petition during the meeting recorded in this transcript.