State Rep. Brian BeGole today voted to end the secret practice of state government giving out huge taxpayer-funded severance payments to departing employees.

In recent years, several Michigan department heads have abruptly left posts in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration with massive severance payouts. In 2021, former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon received $155,506 in an agreement. A year later, former Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray resigned and received a severance payout of around $85,000.

“These golden parachutes aren’t transparent and they flush away hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars,” said BeGole, of Antrim Township. “Many of these deals involve a severance payment in exchange for silence, or an agreement not to speak out about certain decisions that have been made or illegal acts that may have occurred. That isn’t serving the people of Michigan at all. House Republicans have been committed to delivering people we represent with a transparent and accountable model of government, and those efforts continue with this plan.”

House Bill 6009 clearly outlines new prohibitions on severance buyouts for state employees. Restrictions in the proposal include blocking severance payments entirely for state officers, elected or appointed, and restricting state employees, non-civil servants in the executive or legislative branch, from receiving a severance payout greater than 12 weeks of normal wages.

The plan also prevents severance payouts from being shrouded in secrecy, ensuring things like crimes committed in the workplace and employment contracts aren’t hidden from the public eye.

BeGole has played a key role in advancing the measure, helping move it to the House floor as chair of the House Government Operations Committee. HB 6009 now moves to the state Senate for further consideration.