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The State of Disclosure in Michigan
Michigan earned an A- and ranked 3rd in 2008,
up from a B and 6th place in 2007. Michigan
also improved from a B- in 2007 to an A+ and
achieved the first place ranking in the usability
category in 2008. After earning a C in the
2003 assessment, Michigan is one of just three
states to earn an A overall in any of the five
Grading State Disclosure assessments.
Michigan’s disclosure law earned a B
and ranked 13th in 2008. Candidates must itemize
each contribution received, and must disclose
occupation and employer data for donors giving
$100. Candidates must also itemize expenses
over $50, including those made by subvendors.
Independent expenditure disclosure and late
contribution reporting are also strong points
in the law. In 2006, the Secretary of State
issued a detailed “10 Point Plan to Improve
Campaign Finance in Michigan” that would
strengthen disclosure and enforcement provisions
if enacted. Michigan’s excellent electronic
filing program earned an A+ and top ranking
again this year as both statewide and legislative
candidates reaching a threshold of $20,000
are required to file electronically. The Secretary
of State’s office upgraded the electronic
filing system in 2008 with new features to
improve the ease of use, including a comprehensive
online training program.
Michigan
earned an A and ranked 4th for the second
straight year in the Disclosure Content Accessibility
category. Michigan’s online,
searchable databases of contributions and expenditures
are among the most comprehensive databases
in the nation, offering a wide range of search
options and containing both electronic reports
and paper-filed reports that have been data-entered
by the Secretary of State’s staff. Data
is available going back to 1997 and search
results can be sorted online or downloaded
to a spreadsheet for offline analysis. One
thing that Michigan could do to improve access
to campaign disclosure reports would be to
reduce the cost of paper copies of reports
from the current $.25 per page.
Michigan
earned an A+ and the number one ranking in
the Online Contextual and Technical Usability
category in 2008, up from a B- in 2007 and
a D in 2003. The Secretary of State’s
office has adopted the “Quick Fix” suggestions
made in the last two assessments, most recently
adding the starting and ending date of reporting
periods to the index of candidates’ reports.
Michigan’s disclosure site also features
summaries of the totals raised and spent by
candidates going back to 1998, complete candidate
lists, and a detailed explanation of the data
available online. Along with improved contextual
information, usability test results have also
improved: Michigan was one of seven states
to achieve the highest possible usability test
rating in 2008.
→ Quick
Fix: Lower the cost of paper copies
of reports.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The Secretary
of State’s online, searchable
databases offer excellent options for
searching, sorting, and downloading
campaign finance data and are accompanied
by an excellent description of the
data available. View
image View
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 Disclosure Agency: Department of State
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.michigan.gov/sos
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