By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMIPolitics@Blogspot.com)
Legislators can no longer secretly request money for special projects known as earmarks without identifying themselves thanks to historic budget transparency reform from Speaker Of The House Matt Hall and House Republicans.
Public disclosure of budget requests are now due 45 days in advance, 4x what Winnie Brinks and the Senate Dems pushed for.
Only non-profits are eligible for special funding...
Other requirements include:
-an express public purpose for the project
-the name of the legislator sponsoring
-the name of the recipient
"The only thing Democrats cared about was shoving pork in the budget,"said Speaker Hall at a recent press conference regarding House Republicans fight to bring ethics, accountability, and transparency to a divided Michigan government in the state budget this year.
AFP described the new rules as "a huge win and a step in the right direction for budget transparency in Michigan."
All the requests from State House members are also now publicly available in an easy to use, searchable database.
Earmarks have caused controversy for years, most recently in 2023,when Fay Beydoun, a Metro Detroit woman connected to Governor Whitmer, received a $20 million grant now under investigation by Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Beydoun famously spent $4,500 on a coffee maker with taxpayer money!
Which legislator earmarked the money for her is still unknown...
For years, the Lansing establishment looted billions from taxpayers with these BS tricks connected to earmarks---not anymore under Speaker Hall.
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
