She’s at it again — the M
ichigan lawmaker who likened public school teachers to “pigs” while she served as chair of the House Education Committee in 2013, recently topped that feat as the current chair of the House Elections Committee by insulting her fellow GOP lawmakers through offering a bait-and-switch campaign finance bill.
Under her guidance, a modest 12-page proposal secretively swelled into a 53-page law, which fellow legislators had not been able to review when presented for a vote — literally at the eleventh hour, but it came with assurances from Lyons that the changes were minor.
Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons
Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-86) is facing strident demands to amend one particular portion of her shady law — a segment which thoroughly enraged local leaders, along with a number of her GOP colleagues who told the media they felt duped by her covert actions.
Many want a full repeal of the section which gags school districts and municipalities from using public resources to educate the electorate about local ballot questions during a 60-day period prior to elections. The level of concern is so great that 17 local leaders from schools and municipalities have filed a lawsuit asking the court to block Section 57 of the legislation prior to the upcoming March elections. They claim it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments — in their case, protecting neutral political speech. By long-standing campaign finance law, officials have been prohibited from advocating for a particular position on a ballot question, but as it stands, Lyon’s new law prevents them from simply stating what the proposal is even about.
Just check the box and move on folks.
In spite of the hue and cry of local government officials, and many of their professional organizations, Gov. Snyder signed the bill into law earlier this month, with a limp request to have the gag provision clarified… maybe, kinda. In his letter to lawmakers, the governor affirms his support of banning public bodies from using the kind of language legally permitted in third-party issue ads, and then attempts to assuage concerns about a resulting under-informed electorate by suggesting that PACs and issue ads from third-party sources could fill the information gap:
“As I interpret this language, it is intended to prohibit communications that are plain attempts to influence voters without using words like “vote for” or “support. With this clarified prohibition, there remain many other mechanisms, including private entities, associations, and political action committees to encourage support or opposition to a ballot proposal that do not rely on public resources.”
Much like Lyons’ original bill, which went largely unread by lawmakers before the vote, one wonders if Snyder took a moment to review the language of his letter prior to affixing his name to it.
In response to the governor’s flaccid urging, Lyons introduced her notion of a “fix” with HB 5219 – a proposal that maintains the 60-day ban on ballot issue communications, with the following miserly exception:
A discussion of a local ballot question during a meeting of a public body, including a meeting that is broadcast using public access medium, provided that both proponents and opponents of the local ballot question have an equal opportunity to discuss the local ballot question.
Lyons would allow no public resources be spent to remind voters of an upcoming ballot proposal or to provide basic factual information on the issue. Officials are prohibited from unpacking the knotty legal language that is typical of ballot proposals. Voters are left to guess, or base their decision on openly biased third-party mailers and robo-calls, — as the governor advises.
Thankfully, several lawmakers have stepped in to do the right thing with a number of thoughtful proposals — a move strongly advocated by the Michigan Municipal League. The Lyons’ sham proposal is now joined by a crowded field of contenders to amend her campaign finance boondoggle. In order of submission, here’s the line-up:
- Sen. Dale Zorn (R-17) didn’t mess around, his proposal would strike-clean the offensive section from the law.
- Similar legislation from Rep. Andy Schor (D-68) was introduced which would also walk-back the entirety of the troubling provision.
- A third proposal is also being considered. Offered by Rep. Holly Hughes (R-91),who produced a more nuanced approach to amending Lyons’ handiwork — by both reducing the time period from 60 to 30 days, and carving out a number of allowances for specific types of communications.
- A fourth comes to us from Sen. Ken Horn (R-32), whose bill is the Senate version of the above Hughes proposal.
Graphic found on Rep. Lyons website accessed through state operated and funded site.
It’s worth noting, Lyons uses government resources everyday to “educate” the public. The Michigan Legislature website is a portal to the Michigan House Republicans and the Michigan House Democrats individual lawmakers’ websites which are chock full of educational material that doesn’t advocate “vote for” or “support” but is clearly intended to influence the reader.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regularly avail themselves of franking privileges to inform voters — mailing out materials at taxpayer expense to keep voters up to speed on issues, a tool put to use especially during the lead-up to their re-elections. This is why Lyons’ law, and the governor’s tacit approval, are so very disingenuous.
While colleagues from both sides of the aisle are offering sincere legislative efforts to repair her damages, the state’s worst lawmaker teed-up a sham “fix” for her bait-and-switch campaign finance law.
All five bills are under consideration — four thoughtful proposals, and the one from Lyons.