2025 House Resolution 14

Whereas, Rule 52 of the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives provides, “No appropriations bill containing enhancement grants shall be brought for a vote without proper disclosure of the sponsor and the intended recipient, and a description of the grant in a form and manner established by the House by resolution”; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the following procedure is adopted for the required disclosures related to enhancement grants under Rule 52 of the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, for a legislatively directed spending item to be considered for inclusion in a bill or conference report passed by the House during a calendar year, all of the following must be made publicly available on the internet by April 1 of the same calendar year and for not less than 14 days prior to passage of a bill or conference report. For the 2025 calendar year, all of the following must be made publicly available on the internet by May 1, 2025, and for not less than 14 days prior to passage of a bill or conference report:

(a) The sponsoring legislator’s name, and if applicable, any co-sponsoring legislators.

(b) The name and location of the intended recipient and the impacted legislative district or, if there is not a specific intended recipient, the intended location of the project or activity, including legislative district and legislator.

(c) The purpose of the legislatively directed spending item and an explanation of how the legislatively directed spending item provides a public benefit and why the item is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds or to otherwise demonstrate that the item is not for a local or private purpose pursuant to Article IV, § 30 of the Michigan Constitution.

(d) The requested amount of state funding for the legislatively directed spending item and whether the legislatively directed spending item has previously received federal, state, local, or private funding. The type of funding previously received must be clearly specified.

(e) If the recipient of the legislatively directed spending item is a not-for-profit entity, verification of the following information:

(i) That the entity has been operating within the state for the previous 36 consecutive months.

(ii) That the entity has had a physical office within the state for the previous 12 consecutive months.

(iii) That the entity has a board of directors and a list of all officers and active directors on the entity’s board.

(iv) That the entity is not a for-profit entity.

(f) A certification that neither the sponsoring legislator nor the sponsoring legislator’s staff or immediate family has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the legislatively directed spending item.

(g) Information on the required project timing of the proposed legislatively directed spending item.

(2) The sponsoring legislator must provide a written statement containing the information required under subsection (1) on a form and in a manner determined by the House. The written statement must be provided to the Chair and Members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, the House Fiscal Agency, and the House Business Office.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a legislator wishing to co-sponsor a legislatively directed spending item may, with the sponsoring legislator’s permission, add or remove their name as a co-sponsor through April 1 of each calendar year. For the 2025 calendar year, legislators wishing to co-sponsor a legislatively directed spending item may, with the sponsoring legislator’s permission, add or remove their name as a co-sponsor through May 1, 2025. Co-sponsorship of a legislatively directed spending item must be completed by submitting the following letters to the House Business Office:

(a) A signed letter from the sponsor of the legislatively directed spending item granting the legislator wishing to co-sponsor permission to co-sponsor.

(b) A letter from the legislator wishing to co-sponsor stating their intention to co-sponsor the legislatively directed spending item.

(4) The House must develop a webpage on the House of Representatives’ official website where each fully completed written statement received under subsection (1) shall be conspicuously available to the public. After development of the webpage, each fully completed written statement shall be made available within three business days after the later of the creation of the webpage or the original receipt of the fully completed written statement.

(5) A for-profit business is not eligible to receive a legislatively directed spending item.

(6) As used in this section:

(a) “Immediate family” means an individual’s parent, child, sibling, and spouse, and any individual residing in the same household as that individual.

(b) “Legislatively directed spending item” means an appropriation that authorizes or obligates a specific amount of money for a contract or other expenditure with a grant, loan, or other economic assistance or incentive to a specific person, organization, unit of local government, or project or activity in a unit of local government, other than through a formula-driven or competitive award process.

(c) “Staff” means an individual who either is currently or within the past two years has been employed by either house of the Michigan Legislature.

(d) “Legislator” means a duly elected individual serving in the Michigan House of Representatives.