(The Center Square) – Michigan Senate Democrats have agreed to overhaul the state’s earmarking process as part of state budget negotiations.
The effort could have a significant impact on how taxpayer money is spent in the state.
Republican lawmakers, since taking control of the state House in January, have committed to petitioning for more financial transparency. They said this is a positive step in that direction.
“This is how we get better value for the taxpayers,” said Speaker of the House Matt Hall, R-Richland Township. “Far too many of these earmarks have been abused by bad actors in the past, and far too many politicians have abused this process to stuff the budget full of pork projects they can’t defend. That ends now.”
Republicans aren’t the only ones that have been pushing for an end to earmarks, often labeled “pork-barrel” spending.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently filed the lawsuit against the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, arguing that billions in taxpayer dollars have been unlawfully siphoned into earmarks.
Under the Michigan Constitution, taxpayer dollars to specific private groups or local projects already require a two-thirds vote by both the state Senate and House.
AnnMarie Pariseau, the director of communications for the Mackinac Center, previously told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that that safeguard is habitually ignored.
The lawsuit alleges that in fiscal year 2023-24 there were 342 earmarks totaling $1.6 billion. In fiscal year 2024-25, it alleges approximately $1 billion in earmarks.
“There are approximately 5 million taxpayers in Michigan. A billion dollars in earmarks is on average $200 per taxpayer,” the lawsuit states. “If Plaintiffs are correct, billions in earmarks have been improperly appropriated. Preventing illegal expenditures in this amount is in the public interest.”
According to a Tuesday press conference given by Hall, the 2025-2026 fiscal budget has $106 million in earmarks.
House Republicans have taken multiple steps in the past year to try to bring more transparency to the earmark process.
At the beginning of the year, state Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, proposed House Resolution 14. That resolution laid out new rules for legislatively-directed spending initiatives, including:
• No earmarks for for-profit businesses
• Stricter non-profit eligibility
• Conflict of interest protections
In its first action on earmarks, the Democrat-controlled Senate passed a similar version of the House resolution last week. Senate Resolution 74 requires “proper disclosure” of information relevant to the earmark, such as recipient information.
Additionally, Republicans and Democrats together unanimously passed House Bill 4420 back in June, which would codify many of the changes made in the resolution into law. Thereby, preventing the House from revoking that resolution in the future.
Despite bipartisan support, that bill immediately stalled in the Senate upon arrival. It could be resurrected though because, as part of the budget agreement, Republicans said that Senate Democrats have committed to passing legislation similar to that bill.
“For months, the House has been leading the charge to bring sunlight to the earmark process, because hardworking Michigan taxpayers expect and deserve to know how their money is being spent,” Bollin said. “With the Senate now joining us and the governor in support, we have full agreement that earmarks must be transparent, publicly reviewed, and prohibited from flowing to for-profit companies.”
