§ 169.257 — Contributions, expenditures, or volunteer personal services; prohibitions; communication referencing local ballot questions; violation as misdemeanor; penalty.

Michigan § 169.257

• Jurisdiction: Michigan
• Ch. 169: CAMPAIGN FINANCING AND ADVERTISING
• Act 388 of 1976: MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT (169.201-169.282)

Text

MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT (EXCERPT) Act 388 of 1976 169.257 Contributions, expenditures, or volunteer personal services; prohibitions; communication referencing local ballot questions; violation as misdemeanor; penalty. Sec. 57. (1) A public body or a person acting for a public body shall not use or authorize the use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, or other public resources to make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services that are excluded from the definition of contribution under section 4(3)(a). This subsection does not apply to any of the following: (a) The expression of views by an elected or appointed public official who has policy making responsibilities. (b) Subject to subsection (2), the production or dissemination of factual information concerning issues relevant to the function of the public body. (c) The production or dissemination of debates, interviews, commentary, or information by a broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical or publication in the regular course of broadcasting or publication. (d) The use of a public facility owned or leased by, or on behalf of, a public body if any candidate or committee has an equal opportunity to use the public facility. (e) The use of a public facility owned or leased by, or on behalf of, a public body if that facility is primarily used as a family dwelling and is not used to conduct a fund-raising event. (f) An elected or appointed public official or an employee of a public body who, when not acting for a public body but is on the public official's or employee's personal time, is expressing the public official's or employee's personal views, is expending the public official's or employee's personal funds, or is providing the public official's or employee's personal volunteer services. (g) If an individual who is contributing to a separate segregated fund affirmatively consents to the contribution, the use of public resources to establish and administer a payroll deduction plan to directly or indirectly collect a contribution to, or make an expenditure for, a committee. Affirmative consent does not expire until revoked by the individual who provides the affirmative consent. (2) Except for an election official in the performance of the election official's duties under the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 to 168.992, a public body, or a person acting for a public body, shall not, during the period 60 days before an election in which a local ballot question appears on a ballot, use public funds or resources for a communication by means of radio, television, mass mailing, or prerecorded telephone message if that communication references a local ballot question and is targeted to the relevant electorate where the local ballot question appears on the ballot. (3) A person that knowingly violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both, or if the person is not an individual, by 1 of the following, whichever is greater: (a) A fine of not more than $20,000.00. (b) A fine equal to the amount of the improper contribution or expenditure.

Legislative History

Add. 1995, Act 264, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 590 , Eff. Mar. 31, 1997 ;-- Am. 2001, Act 250 , Eff. Mar. 22, 2002 ;-- Am. 2012, Act 31 , Imd. Eff. Feb. 28, 2012 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 269 , Imd. Eff. Jan. 6, 2016 ;-- Am. 2023, Act 244 , Eff. Feb. 13, 2024 Compiler's Notes: Section 2 of Act 264 of 1995 provides:“If any portion of this amendatory act or the application of this amendatory act to any person or circumstance is found to be invalid by a court, the invalidity does not affect the remaining portions or applications of this amendatory act that can be given effect without the invalid portion or application, if those remaining portions are not determined by the court to be inoperable. To this end, this amendatory act is declared to be severable.”Enacting section 1 of Act 31 of 2012 provides:"Enacting section 1. It is the policy of this state that a public body shall maintain strict neutrality in each election and that a public body or a person acting on behalf of a public body shall not attempt to influence the outcome of an election held in the state. If there is a perceived ambiguity in the interpretation of section 57, that section shall be construed to best effectuate the policy of strict neutrality by a public body in an election."