April 27, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Elsenheimer, Jones, Hansen, Pearce, Booher, Robertson, Nitz, LaJoy, Baxter, Emmons, Schuitmaker, Gosselin, Hoogendyk, Palmer, Rocca, Ball, Mortimer, Ward, Moore, Van Regenmorter, Sheen, Gaffney, Amos, Vander Veen, Brandenburg, Casperson, Taub, Kahn, Marleau, Walker, Farhat, Caul and Wenke and referred to the Committee on House Oversight, Elections, and Ethics.
A bill to establish standards of ethical conduct for officers
and employees in the executive branch of state government; to
impose duties and requirements on executive branch officers and
employees; to provide for enforcement through sanctions and
remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
CHAPTER 1 GENERAL
Sec. 101. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"executive branch ethics act".
Sec. 103. As used in this act:
(a) "Business" means any corporation, limited liability
corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, sole
proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association,
organization, self-employed individual, holding company, joint
stock company, receivership, trust, or any legal entity through
which commerce is conducted for profit.
(b) "Compensation" means any money, thing of value, or
economic benefit conferred on, or received by, a person in return
for present or future services.
(c) "Directly involved" means working on the matter or
supervising work of an individual who works on the matter.
(d) "Does business with" means contracting, entering into an
agreement, leasing, or otherwise exchanging services or goods with
a state agency in return for payment by the state, including
accepting a grant, but not including accepting an entitlement
disbursement.
(e) "Family" means all individuals with any of the following
relationships to the identified individual: spouse, child, parent,
brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-
law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother,
stepsister, half brother, half sister.
(f) "Gift" means a payment, loan, subscription, advance,
deposit of money, services, or anything of value, unless
consideration of equal or greater value is received. Gift does not
include gratuitous transfers from family members, campaign
contributions, or door prizes available to the public.
(g) "Income" means money or a thing of value that a person
receives or has a right to receive as a fee, salary, expense
allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest, dividend, royalty,
rent, capital gain, or any other form of compensation.
(h) "Officer" means an individual holding an elective or non-
civil-service-appointive position in the executive branch of state
government.
(i) "Official duty" means any responsibility imposed on a
public servant because of his or her position in state service.
(j) "Public servant" means an officer or employee in the
executive branch of state government.
CHAPTER 2 ETHICAL STANDARDS
Sec. 201. A public servant who appears before a state agency
shall avoid all conduct that creates the appearance of using the
official position to further his or her professional or private
interest.
Sec. 203. A public servant who abstains from action on an
official decision because of the possibility of a personal or
private interest in the matter shall disclose that fact in writing
to his or her superior or the appropriate public body, who shall
cause the decision on the matter to be made by an impartial
decision maker.
Sec. 205. In determining whether abstention from action on an
official decision because of a possible conflict of interest is
required, the following apply:
(a) A material personal or private interest in a matter
creates a real or apparent threat to independent judgment.
(b) Maintaining public confidence in the integrity of the
executive branch outweighs the personal interests of a public
servant in participating in the matter.
(c) The degree to which a public servant's participation is
likely to have a significant effect on the disposition of the
matter requires corresponding attention to the degree of private
interest the public servant has, or appears to have, in the matter.
(d) The need for the public servant's particular contribution
to the effective functioning of the executive branch, such as
special knowledge of the subject matter, can outweigh the potential
harm from a real or apparent conflict of interest only if the
public servant's private interest in the matter is adequately
disclosed.
(e) If the official decision will affect the public servant in
a manner differently from the public or will affect him or her as a
member of a business, profession, occupation, or group to a greater
extent generally than other members of the business, profession,
occupation, or group, the public servant shall request an advisory
opinion from the appropriate administrative body authorized to
enforce this act in accordance with that body's rules of procedure
before participating in the decision.
Sec. 207. A public servant shall not knowingly do any of the
following, either directly or indirectly:
(a) Use or attempt to use any means to influence any matter
that involves a substantial conflict between his or her personal or
private interest and the public interest.
(b) Use or attempt to use any means to influence a public
agency in derogation of the interest of the state.
(c) Use the official position or office to obtain personal
financial gain or financial gain for any member of his or her
family.
(d) Use or attempt to use the official position to secure or
create privileges, exemptions, advantages, or treatment in
derogation of the public interest.
Sec. 209. A public servant shall not knowingly disclose or use
confidential information acquired in the course of official duties
to further his or her own economic interests or those of any other
person.
Sec. 211. A public servant shall not knowingly receive,
directly or indirectly, any interest or profit arising from the use
or loan of public funds in his or her custody or to be raised
through any state agency.
Sec. 213. A public servant shall not knowingly act as a
representative or agent for the state or any state agency in any
transaction or regulatory action with himself or herself or with
any business in which he or she or a family member has a greater
than 5% interest.
Sec. 215. During tenure and for 6 months after leaving the
state office or employment, a public servant shall not directly or
by any other person knowingly undertake, execute, hold, bid on,
negotiate, or enjoy, in whole or in part, any contract, agreement,
lease, sale, or purchase made, entered into, awarded, or granted by
the agency that employs the public servant or that he or she
supervises. This prohibition does not apply to any of the
following:
(a) A contract, purchase, or good-faith negotiation made
relating to eminent domain.
(b) An agreement that directly or indirectly involves public
funds disbursed through an entitlement program.
(c) A public servant's family member doing business with a
state agency other than the agency of which the public servant is
an officer, employee, or supervisor.
(d) Purchases from a state agency that are available on the
same terms to the general public or that are made at public
auction.
Sec. 217. Unless an administrative agency authorized by law to
enforce this act has granted prior approval, a public servant shall
not knowingly accept compensation for performing official duties,
other than that provided by law for public servants.
Sec. 219. While serving and for 6 months after leaving the
office or employment, a public servant shall not knowingly accept
employment, compensation, or other economic benefit from any person
or business that contracts with, does business with, or is
regulated by the state in matters in which he or she was directly
involved during the last 36 months of tenure. This provision does
not prohibit an individual from returning to a business,
occupation, or profession in which the individual was involved
before becoming a public servant, or for which the individual
received a professional degree or license prior to public service,
if, for a period of 6 months, the individual refrains from working
on any matter with which the individual was directly involved
during the last 36 months of tenure in state government. This
section does not prohibit receipt of public funds disbursed through
entitlement programs or performing ministerial functions,
including, but not limited to, filing tax returns, filing
applications for permits or licenses, or filing incorporation
papers.
Sec. 221. A former public servant shall not knowingly
represent a person before a state agency or act as a lobbyist or
lobbyist's principal in matters in which the public servant was
directly involved during the last 36 months of his or her tenure
until not less than 1 year after the later of the following:
(a) The date of leaving office or terminating employment.
(b) The date the term of office to which the public servant
was elected expires.
Sec. 223. (1) A public servant shall not knowingly accept
outside employment from any individual or entity that does business
with or is regulated by the state agency that the public servant
works for or supervises without prior approval of the appointing
authority.
(2) The appointing authority shall not approve outside
employment for a public servant if the public servant is involved
in decision making or recommendations concerning the individual or
entity with which the public servant seeks outside employment.
(3) Each quarter, the appointing authority shall file with the
administrative body authorized to enforce this act the name of each
public servant who has been approved for outside employment and the
employer.
Sec. 225. A public servant and his or her spouse or dependent
child shall not knowingly accept a gift or gratuity, including
travel expenses, meals, alcoholic beverages, or honoraria with a
cumulative value greater than $25.00 in a single calendar year from
any individual or entity that does business with, is regulated by,
is seeking grants from, is involved in litigation against, or is
lobbying or attempting to influence the actions of the agency in
which the public servant is employed or which he or she supervises.
The prohibition in this section extends to receipt of a gift or
gratuity from any group or association that has as its primary
purpose representing an individual or entity from which gifts and
gratuities are limited. The administrative body authorized to
enforce this act may authorize an exemption to this section if the
exemption would not create an appearance of impropriety.
CHAPTER 3 PENALTIES AND REMEDIES
Sec. 301. (1) Except as otherwise provided in the law creating
the administrative body, following an administrative hearing and a
finding of a violation of this act by clear and convincing
evidence, an administrative body authorized by law to enforce this
act may do any 1 or more of the following in addition to any other
criminal and civil remedies that may be imposed in other
proceedings:
(a) Order the violator to discontinue the violation or refrain
from further violation.
(b) Order the violator to file any report, statement, or other
information required by law.
(c) Issue a written reprimand to the violator for a violation
of the act and provide a copy to any relevant appointing authority.
(d) Issue a written recommendation to the appropriate
appointing authority that the violator be removed from office or
employment.
(e) Issue a written recommendation to the appropriate
appointing authority that the violator be suspended from office or
employment, including the recommended length of suspension.
(f) Order the violator to pay a civil fine of not more than
$5,000.00 for each violation of the act to recover the expenses of
the investigation and hearing.
(2) An administrative body authorized by law to enforce this
act shall refer evidence of a violation of sections 209 to 225 to
the attorney general for prosecution. The attorney general may
request that the administrative body provide all evidence collected
in its investigation. The administrative body may have legal
counsel represent its interests in any proceeding to enforce this
act.
Sec. 303. A violation of sections 207 to 225 that causes
financial gain for the public servant or a member of the public
servant's family or a loss to the state of $500.00 or more is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or
a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.
Sec. 305. In addition to any other remedies provided by law,
if a violation of this act substantially influenced the action
taken by any state agency in a particular matter, the state agency
may void, rescind, or cancel the action on terms that protect the
interests of the state and third parties who acted in good faith.
Enacting section 1. The following acts and parts of acts are
repealed:
(a) 1973 PA 196, MCL 15.341 to 15.348.
(b) Section 8 of 1968 PA 317, MCL 15.328.