Advocates await Snyder action on ethics reform

Despite his own calls for separating lobbying from leading, Gov.-elect Rick Snyder has named lobbyists to key administration positions and watchdogs are anxiously awaiting his promised ethics reform agenda.

As a candidate for governor Rick Snyder railed against the negative effect of lobbyists and special interests and proposed a set of ethics reforms to make state government more transparent. On his transition website Snyder states that Michigan should require disclosure of all financial transactions between lobbyists and public officials, bar elected officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists and create a mandatory cooling-off period of two years between government service and work as a lobbyist.

Despite those statements, the governor-elect has appointed former lobbyist Dennis Muchmore as his chief of staff and Bill Rustem of Public Sector Consultants as chief strategy advisor.

Currently Michigan has some of the nation’s weakest lobbying disclosure rules and is one of only three states that do not require public officials to make financial disclosure statements.

To change state law to require greater disclosure for lobbyists and lawmakers would require cooperation from the legislature, which has not moved on past reform proposals.

Inside Michigan Politics editor and former Republican state senator Bill Ballenger said that Snyder will have a hard time passing such reforms through the legislature.

“He may have a tougher time pulling this off than balancing the budget!” Ballenger said via e-mail. “But he´ll get a lot of credit just for proposing it, and we´ll see how hard he works to make it happen.”

Ballenger said he would also like to see financial disclosure required of lawmakers.

“[Snyder has] sound positions, particularly on lobbying and its disclosure. We need more frequent, more thorough disclosure of campaign spending and electioneering communications,“ Rich Robinson, director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network said. “I’d be optimistic if one could accomplish anything by executive order, but I’m a little skeptical about the legislature taking up ethics and transparency. Interest groups don’t want transparency.”

Though the Snyder ethics agenda might face difficulties in the legislature, when it comes to his own appointees Snyder can require whatever sort of disclosure he feels necessary, according to state ethics board chairman Lynn Jondahl.

“Depending to the degree to which they feel it would be helpful to them and to the public they could make any kind of review and requirement apply, one of their own creation,” Jondahl said.

If Snyder wants the legislature to adopt ethics reforms he should set an example by requiring disclosure from his own staff, said Christina Kuo, director of the watchdog group Common Cause Michigan.

“With ethics and good government things it is always good to lead by example” she said. “If he is serious about it he should require disclosure from his appointees.”

Kuo said that she would like the governor-elect to deepen his agenda for reform and work to enact financial disclosure requirements that would require lawmakers to disclose when their immediate family members have connections to lobbyists.

Earlier this month Common Cause Michigan asked governor-elect Snyder to disclose the funders of his inauguration event, she said.

“The people sponsoring that are going to have some kind of influence,“ she said. “They are at least expecting access to the governor elect.”

So far this information has not been supplied.

Spokespeople for the Snyder team did not respond when asked whether the administration would require financial disclosure from its appointees.