On Tuesday, the Michigan House of Representatives voted to pass changes to elected officials’ financial disclosure requirements in response to severe issues with the electronic filing system and disclosure requirements implemented by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. State Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township) delivered some harsh criticisms of the Secretary of State for what he described as another failure of hers that the Legislature had to intervene to fix.

“Today’s action by the Michigan House once again highlights the astonishing incompetence of our Secretary of State,” DeBoyer said. “After burning through $9 million, she’s delivered a poor, incomplete product that she demands elected officials use to meet her absurd, made up requirements. Meanwhile, the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature were able to easily craft our own reporting system with far more transparency and clarity than Jocelyn Benson could muster up.”

The Legislature’s approved disclosure policy, found in Senate Bills 99 and 100, creates a new financial disclosure form that members can submit through email and places it into statute, allowing the public to see what information elected lawmakers must share. By dictating what form the Secretary of State must use, the bills allow legislative members to no longer rely upon the failed electronic filing system required by Benson. The legislation also clarifies reporting requirements for lobbyist interactions, another area of confusion caused by disastrous mandates from the state’s executive office.

“I would say I am appalled that the Legislature had to step in and fix Jocelyn Benson’s mess, but this has become the norm in Lansing,” DeBoyer said. “This absolutely disastrous mishandling of the financial disclosure issue is just another chapter in a long saga of failures by our Secretary of State. In a tragically ironic way, her dysfunctional website is emblematic of her shameful record on transparency.

“She somehow made a calamity out of what we proved today could have been an easy win for transparency and accountability in government. That kind of incompetence is dumbfounding. I find it remarkable that someone with such a horrendous history of governing wants voters to entrust her with the highest office in state government.”