LANSING, Mich. (March 28, 2022) – Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Township) have introduced legislation that will greatly improve the functioning of our state agencies and ensure the Michigan legislature’s ability to fight corruption.
Senate Joint Resolution O would amend Michigan’s constitution to create a permanent, bicameral, bipartisan oversight committee. Senate Bill 997 would detail the committee’s powers, along with how members are selected, vacancies are filled, and removal of members from the committee. The committee would be comprised of eight members of the legislature — two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two appointed by the House Minority Leader, two appointed by the Senate Majority Leader, and two appointed by the Senate Minority Leader.
“Good government is impossible without good oversight. Our current system of legislative oversight relies mostly on politics and the personal preference of committee chairs,” Sen. Irwin said. “We have a responsibility to the people of Michigan to investigate the functions of government no matter who the governor is and what party they represent. Our plan puts accountability and the public interest first.”
Sen. Irwin and Sen. McBroom’s legislation would create a legislative oversight system, similar to 11 other states, that balances party membership on committees that provide oversight. Their efforts would ensure that the minority party has a voice in matters of oversight, along with fostering the necessary bipartisanship and cooperation to ensure good government during times of extreme partisan attitudes.
“Due to term limits and the frequency of varied partisan power in Michigan, it is clear we need stronger safeguards to ensure consistency in government oversight,” Sen. McBroom said. “We have taken some of the most robust methods from the states and are trying to adapt them to Michigan. I hope this will leave a mechanism in place to protect the people from unrestrained, partisan bureaucracy and executive branch power.”
The Levin Center, Michigan’s nationally recognized leader in bipartisan, fact-based legislative oversight, recently published a report on all 50 states’ oversight capabilities and noted that Michigan “possesses extensive resources that could facilitate legislative oversight… Yet, evidence suggests that legislative oversight is generally lax.” The report notes that when one party is in control of the executive and legislative branches, oversight generally does not happen, and in times of divided government, legislative oversight is used or disregarded as a partisan weapon, and therefore does not improve the function and transparency of government as much as it should.
###