New bills introduced in the Michigan House would stop public utilities from donating to political campaigns. The ban on political giving would apply to utilities, their officials, and their lobbying organizations.
It would also apply to some government contractors with awards totaling more than $250,000. The restrictions on contractors would span the length of the contract as well as a year-and-a-half period before and after the award.
The package hopes to address concerns that the utilities and contractors are using political influence to avoid accountability.
Package co-sponsor Representative Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) accused utilities of doing more to pressure lawmakers than provide reliable service.
“They don’t face competition. Customers can’t switch to another provider. And still, year after year, these same utilities spend millions to influence our campaigns, fund political groups, maintain their grip on power here in Lansing and beyond,” Morgan said during a press conference announcing the legislation.
When it comes to large political spending, two of the state’s largest utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, frequently come up in discussions.
According to the campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets, organizations tied to DTE and Consumers spent over $970,000 on campaign contributions last election.
In separate written statements, both companies defended their political activity and said they were committed to transparency. DTE acknowledged that its Integrated Resource Plan or IRP — the utility’s long-range planning document reached in a settlement with state regulators — includes disclosing more about its political contributions.
“DTE Energy is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and complies with all applicable laws regarding corporate donations and political contributions. In compliance with our IRP settlement, we have voluntarily expanded our disclosures to increase transparency for all stakeholders. These disclosures showcase DTE’s commitment to our customers and communities we serve, helping us meet our aspiration of being best in the world and best for the world. The political contributions the company makes are supported by the DTE voluntary employee PAC or DTE shareholders – not from customer revenue,” a statement from DTE said.
Consumers Energy said it was opposed to the legislation in its current form, and that its employee political action committee, called Employees for Better Government, is already following transparency principles.
“We’re a Michigan company, and we’re all in on Michigan’s prosperity. We conduct our business with a keen focus on compliance and transparency, and that includes our participation in the legislative and political process. Contributions to elected officials can come from one of two places—either shareholder profits, or voluntary contributions made by our employees to the Employees for Better Government (EBG) PAC—and never customer bills. The EBG PAC is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and governed by an employee-run steering committee that is independent of the Corporation’s officers and Board. Participation in the PAC is voluntary and gives employees a voice in the political process, and all PAC contributions are publicly disclosed on the Secretary of State’s website,” Consumers Energy said in a statement.
The contributions from the utilities fell across the political spectrum.
Last legislative session, a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced similar bills. They never made it anywhere despite Democrats controlling the chamber at the time.
This time, the package is bipartisan. Representative Jim DeSana (R-Carleton) joined some Democrats in cosponsoring the bills. He said he believes more Republicans will get on board.
“It’s widely popular and isn’t even a bad thing I don’t think for the utilities. They’ll save a lot of money. And like we’ve all said, they’ll be able to use it to improve their company,” DeSana said.
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