Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4680 (H-2) as passed by the House Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Andrew Fink http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Bill 4681 as passed House Bill 4683 as passed
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Tate Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Beson
House Bill 4682 (H-1) as passed House Bill 4684 (H-1) as passed
Sponsor: Rep. John R. Roth Sponsor: Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden
Committee: Elections and Ethics
Complete to 7-26-21
SUMMARY:
House Bills 4680 and 4682 to 4684 would amend 1968 PA 318, also known as the conflicts
of interest act, to create separate legislative committees charged with enforcing the act for
the committee’s respective house, specify the scope of the act, and require additional
reporting on potential conflicts of interest. House Bill 4681 would amend the Open
Meetings Act to exempt the conflict of interest committees from the requirements of that
act.
House Bills 4680 to 4683 would take effect January 1, 2022. House Bill 4684 would take
effect January 1, 2023.
House Bill 4680 would amend the conflicts of interest act. Currently, the act requires a
joint committee on conflicts of interest, composed of three members of the Senate and three
members of the House of Representatives, with one member of the minority party from
each house.
HB 4680 would instead require a committee in each house to enforce ethics and conflict of
interest laws and rules, composed of an equal number of members from each party and co-
chaired by a representative from each party. The Speaker of the House and Minority Leader
in the House and the Majority and Minority Leaders in the Senate would each select half
of the members of their respective committee. Those leaders would also each designate a
co-chairperson. The committee chairperson would alternate between the two parties every
six months.
The Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader could remove a legislator from their
house’s respective committee for any reason. Vacancies would be filled in the same manner
as the initial appointment.
The joint committee currently renders advisory opinions on a member’s interest that may
cause a substantial conflict of interest. The committees required by the bill also would
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 render advisory opinions on a member’s interest that may constitute an ethical violation
and accept a complaint from any individual that a member has willfully violated the act or
the rules of the member’s respective house. A member of the committee who improperly
divulged confidential information acquired in the course of the committee’s activities also
would be in violation of the act. (Currently and under the bill, a legislator who willfully
violates the act is subject to appropriate disciplinary action by his or her respective house.)
Additionally, the committees could do any of the following:
• Initiate an investigation, including in response to a complaint of a willful violation
of the act or the rules of the member’s house and determine whether there was a
violation.
• Make recommendations for disciplinary action, if applicable.
• Extend for up to 90 days the deadline to file a report on potential conflict of interest
described in House Bill 4684.
The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House would have to preserve all conflict
of interest reports submitted pursuant to House Bill 4684 for at least 15 years.
Generally, the committee records and files would be confidential and exempt from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). However, within 10 days of a
determination that a member willfully violated the act or the rules of the member’s house,
the committee would have to make available the determination, findings, evidence, and
recommendations for disciplinary action. Additionally, a legislator could disclose his or
own conflict of interest report, and the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House
would have to release a former legislator’s reports within 10 days after a request.
The bill states that the legislature must appropriate the necessary funds for the committees
to carry out their functions, operations, and activities. The bill would not limit the ability
of the House or Senate to adopt more stringent conflict of interest standards than those in
the act.
The bill is tie-barred to House Bills 4681, 4682, 4683, and 4685, which means that it could
not take effect unless those bills were also enacted.1
MCL 15.307
House Bill 4681 would amend the Open Meetings Act to exempt the committees created
under House Bill 4680 and charged with enforcing conflict of interest and ethics laws and
rules from the definition of “public body” under the act. With specified exceptions, the act
provides that all meetings of a public body must be open to the public and held in a place
available to the general public.
MCL 15.262
1
House Bill 4685 would create the State Officer Financial Disclosure act to require financial disclosure by certain
state officers. See the House Fiscal Agency summary of House Bills 4685 and 4686:
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/billanalysis/House/pdf/2021-HLA-4685-CCB773BA.pdf
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4680 to 4684 as passed by the House Page 2 of 5
 House Bill 4682 would amend the conflicts of interest act. Currently, the act states that it
serves to implement the provisions of section 10 of Article IV of the state constitution. The
bill would exempt sections 7, 7a, and 8a from that provision. (Section 7 would be amended
by HB 4680 and concerns the conflict of interest and ethics committees. Section 7a would
be amended by HB 4684 and would require legislators to file an annual conflict of interest
report. Section 8a would be amended by HB 40012 and would require a member to abstain
from a vote in which the member has knowledge that he or she has a personal or
professional interest.)
The bill is tie-barred to House Bill 4680, which means that it could not take effect unless
HB 4680 were also enacted.
MCL 15.301
House Bill 4683 would amend the conflicts of interest act to remove language that states
that it is the legislature’s intent that section 10 of Article IV of the state constitution, as
implemented by the conflicts of interest act, constitutes the sole law on conflicts of interest
for legislators and state officers.
The bill is tie-barred to House Bills 4001 and 4680, which means that it could not take
effect unless HBs 4001 and 4680 were also enacted.
MCL 15.309
House Bill 4684 would add a new section to the conflicts of interest act to require
legislators to file an annual conflict of interest report.
Under the bill, by February 1 of each year, legislators would have to file the confidential
report with the member’s respective conflict of interest committee (described in HB 4680)
and with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as applicable.
The report would have to include all of the following:
• The full name, mailing address, and occupation of the person filing the report.
• The names of members of the immediate family of an individual who are not
dependent children and the number of dependent children.
• Employers’ names, addresses, and principal activities for the person and the
person’s immediate family members for the year covered by the report, if the
amount earned was $5,000 or more.
• For any source of income of more than $5,000 in the covered year (earned by either
the person or the person’s immediate family members), the source and type of
earned income received.
• The source and type of all other income if the total income was more than $5,000
in the covered year.
2
House Fiscal Agency summary of House Bill 4001: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-
2022/billanalysis/House/pdf/2021-HLA-4001-B6896812.pdf
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 • The address of each parcel of real property (except for the primary residence) held
during that calendar year by the person and immediate family members if the
property had a fair market value of $50,000 or more.
• The address of property owned by the person (with the exception of the person’s
primary residence) or immediate family member if the property had a fair market
value of $50,000 or more.
• A description of stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, shares in mutual funds, or
any other forms of securities held by the person or the person’s immediate family
members if the total value of the security had a fair market value of $10,000 or
more.
• A description of interest in another kind of specified asset if the interest in the asset
had a value of $10,000 or more on the filing date.
• The identity of certain compensated positions held by the person and immediate
family members for certain entities if the compensation in that calendar year was
$1,000 or more.
• If the person or immediate family members were required to register as a lobbyist
or lobbyist agent, the name, address, and principal activity of all who compensated
or reimbursed the person for lobbying. (For purposes of this provision, “immediate
family” would include the child or parent of the person and the spouse of the
person’s child.)
• A description of any interest the person or an immediate family member had in a
legal entity conducting business in Michigan in the calendar year, if the interest had
a book value of $10,000 or more, unless the entity had shares that are listed or
traded over the counter or on an organized exchange.
Immediate family of an individual would mean a spouse, dependent child, or
a person claimed as a dependent by the individual or the individual’s spouse for
federal income tax purposes.
The person would not be required to disclose any value of any real or personal property
disclosed under the bill.
The person also would not be required to report on the interests or assets of a blind trust—
aside from identifying that the interest exists—but would have to include information on
other trusts or financial arrangements.
A person filing a report could omit any of the following:
• Information the person must report under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.
• If all of the following apply, information about property or stocks or other forms of
securities:
o The person filing the report did not have actual knowledge of the item and the
item was the exclusive financial interest and responsibility of the person’s
immediate family member.
o The item was not derived from the income, assets, or activities of the person
filing the report.
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 o The person filing did not derive, or expect to derive, financial benefit from the
item.
• An item concerning the person’s spouse if the spouse is living separate and apart
and his or her intent is divorce or separation.
• An item arising from a divorce or separation.
• Compensation from certain publicly held corporations.
• Benefits received under the Social Security Act.
The bill is tie-barred to House Bill 4680, which means that it could not take effect unless
HB 4680 were also enacted.
Proposed MCL 15.307a
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4680 likely would increase costs for the state legislature by an unknown
amount. Any cost increases would be related to the needs of the committees established to
enforce ethics and conflict of interest laws and rules. Costs could include staffing,
information technology, and file storage. While the bill states that the legislature shall
appropriate funds necessary for the committee to carry out its functions, statute cannot
mandate an appropriation. Therefore, any future funding to support the committees would
be subject to legislative appropriations in any given fiscal year.
House Bills 4681 through 4684 would have no discernible fiscal impact on state or local
government.
POSITIONS:
Voters Not Politicians indicated support for the bills. (5-11-21)
Legislative Analyst: Jenny McInerney
Fiscal Analyst: Ben Gielczyk
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4680 to 4684 as passed by the House Page 5 of 5


Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 15.301, 15.310
As Passed by the House: 15.301, 15.310