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House rejects two amendments to financial-disclosure bill after debate over county coverage
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Summary
Lawmakers debated amendments to House Bill 5091, which would expand the Public Officers Financial Disclosure Act; two proposed amendments to remove a population threshold and to add additional county offices were debated and both failed, and the bill advanced to third reading.
Representative Song spoke on the House floor in support of an amendment to House Bill 5091 that would remove a 150,000-population threshold and require financial disclosures by county commissioners and executives in every county. Song said the threshold would limit the law’s coverage to roughly 16 of Michigan’s 83 counties and argued the amendment would “ensure that residents of every single county, no matter what size, has the right to transparency from their elected officials.”
Representative Colazar then offered a broader amendment to not only remove the population threshold but also add county clerks, treasurers, prosecuting attorneys, sheriffs, drain commissioners and registers of deeds to the disclosure requirement, saying that "Michiganders deserve transparency from their elected officials and their local leaders." Both amendments were put to recorded votes; the Clerk announced that Song’s amendment was not adopted, and Colazar’s amendment likewise failed to pass.
Following the failed amendments, the Clerk announced there were no further amendments and the House advanced House Bill 5091 to third reading. No formal vote on the underlying bill occurred on the floor during this sequence of proceedings.
Next steps: the bill will return for third reading, where members may again debate, amend, or vote on final passage.
