• Board of State Canvassers on Friday unanimously approved petition language that would ban regulated electric and gas utilities from making political donations
  • A legal challenge to the initiative may come, however, with some saying the petition is a First Amendment violation of free speech and association
  • Circulators now have 180 days to gather at least 357,000 valid signatures to make the November 2026 ballot

LANSING — After hours of deliberation Friday, members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers unanimously approved petition language for an effort to ban political spending by utilities like Consumers Energy and DTE and large state contractors. 

Should it make the ballot — and voters approve it — the effort would require lawmakers draft legislation prohibiting regulated electric and gas utilities from “making direct or indirect campaign contributions to those who run for or hold offices that impact them,” according to an initiative summary approved by canvassers Friday.

That ban would also apply to contractors with over $250,000 annually in government contracts and people in organizations with substantial connections to those utilities or contractors.

Sean McBrearty with Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, the group spearheading the petition effort, said the plan is to have petitions in circulation “by Labor Day weekend.” 

The hope, he added, is to gather 500,000 signatures — well over the 357,000 signatures needed — in the next 180 days in an attempt to make the November 2026 ballot.

“Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat or anything else — now is the time for us to come together and say that our democracy is not for sale,” McBrearty, also the Michigan state director of Clean Water Action, told Bridge Michigan.

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In addition to banning political contributions for certain actors, the initiative also looks to expand state campaign finance laws and restrictions to more clearly identify who is paying for political communications — such as advertisements — regardless of whether they are advocating for or against a cause.

Comments made during Friday’s meeting, however, indicated that gathering signatures may be an uphill climb because of legal challenges. 

Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber, called the petition a “broad proposal that, among other things, contains restrictions on free speech that courts have repeatedly deemed unacceptable.”

In the last legislative session, DTE or Consumers-affiliated political action committees gave to 120 of 148 legislators’ campaigns or leadership PACs, nearly $560,000 over two years. The contributions were bipartisan and almost evenly split between lawmakers and related leadership PACs from both major political parties.

The largest recipients of Consumers and DTE donations last term were the leaders of each chamber, then-House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit ($46,000) and current Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids ($26,000).

The third-largest recipient was state Rep. Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who is now House speaker. He and his related leadership PACs accepted $24,500 from the utilities in 2023 and 2024.

Though approved Friday, the petition drive could face competition with other initiatives that canvassers have already approved for circulation, including an effort to raise taxes on those making over $500,000 a year for further education spending and to undo the Legislature’s recent changes to court-ordered minimum wage and sick leave laws. 

To that, and the possibility of legal challenges, McBrearty was bullish. 

“We’re confident that what we’re doing and what we’re asking Michigan voters to support is not only entirely legal but will strengthen our democracy by making sure that the people — not the corporations — are in the driver’s seat,” he said.

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