Slagh bill aimed at increasing petition drive transparency passes House
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GRAND RAPIDS — The Michigan House of Representatives has passed a bill introduced by Rep. Bradley Slagh aimed at reforming the way petition drives are handled once signatures are submitted to the state.
Slagh, a Zeeland Republican, introduced House Bill 5252 in September. The bill would require the state Bureau of Elections to provide regular updates on the status of petitions submitted — an initial summary of the petition two days after its filed, and then an update on the signature verification process every 30 days after its filed.
The House passed the bill unanimously, and now advances to the Senate for consideration.
In a statement, Slagh said the bill would provide more transparency for Michigan voters.
“This requirement should be easily attainable and cost the department little to nothing to accomplish,” he said. “The people of Michigan deserve to be informed about the status of petitions submitted to the Secretary of State. This plan will help hold the department accountable to the people.”
More: Rep. Slagh bill would speed up petition signature review process
According to the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency, the bill would have no financial impact on the Department of State.
Petition drives in the state in recent years include the Unlock Michigan petition launched in 2021. After the Bureau of Elections certified the petition drive, the Republican-controlled Legislature was able to repeal a 1945 emergency powers law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used in the early months of the pandemic to implement coronavirus-related restrictions.
Earlier in 2021, Slagh also introduced legislation targeting to speed up the petition review process, requiring the state to review and canvass petitions 90 days after signatures are submitted, or 120 days if petition signatures are submitted within 45 days of a general election.
That bill, HB 4200, passed the House 60-49 in April. It has yet to be taken up in the Senate.
— Contact Arpan Lobo at alobo@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo. Become a subscriber today.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Slagh bill aimed at increasing petition drive transparency passes House
