Michigan's Two Big Utilities Sue in Federal Court to Block Voter-Approved Proposal 2 on Campaign Money
Michigan's two largest utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, filed suit in federal court on Nov. 5 seeking to block Proposal 2, which voters approved on Nov. 3 with about 81% support.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, names Attorney General Dana Nessel, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater as defendants.
Proposal 2, known as the “Money Out of Politics” measure, amends the Michigan Campaign Finance Act to bar regulated electric and gas utilities, contractors with more than $250,000 a year in government contracts, and people closely connected to them from contributing to candidates who could affect their interests, and it expands donor-disclosure requirements for election communications.
The companies argue the measure violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, restricts political participation by the companies, their employees and their families, and is not narrowly tailored to fighting corruption. The sponsoring group, Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, called the lopsided vote a clear mandate from voters for change.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy had already sued on election night, Nov. 3, over the measure's disclosure provisions. Under state law the measure takes effect 10 days after the official declaration of results, expected in early December, and the companies asked the court for preliminary and permanent injunctions barring enforcement.
Source: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密歇根州议会大厦。CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
