This year, Michigan voters will decide on three proposals, one of which was put on the ballot by the legislature. Earlier this year, the House and Senate provided the necessary two-thirds vote of a Joint Resolution to place this issue on the ballot. Proposal 22-1 would make changes to term limit laws in the state, as well as add financial disclosure requirements of those elected to statewide offices.

Currently in Michigan, a person is eligible to serve a maximum of three, two-year terms in the House and two, four-year terms in the Senate, for a total of 14 years. Under the proposal, a person could serve a total of 12 years in the Michigan Legislature, with all of those years being in one chamber, or a combination of the two. Experts believe that most likely legislators will choose to serve all of their 12 eligible years in one chamber. Michigan’s current term limit laws have been in place since Proposal B was passed by voters in 1992.

Additionally, starting in 2023, the proposal would require the governor, lt. governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and members of the legislature to file annual financial disclosure reports. The reports would include income sources, assets, liabilities, future employment agreements, amongst other items. It also requires the legislature to enact financial reporting requirements, without limiting or restricting them. Over the past several years, the legislature has worked to enact financial disclosure laws, without success. Michigan is repeatedly placed at the bottom of the list amongst states for transparency laws and is only one of two states that doesn’t require personal financial disclosure by lawmakers.

To view the full text of the initiated law, and the official ballot wording, please click here.

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