How much money candidates in Michigan can receive from special interest groups could get cut in half. That’s if a proposed bill finds its way through the legislature.
It takes money to run even the smallest campaign. From brochures to yard signs to television ads – the dollars add up.
Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonpartisan organization, found that the top fundraising candidates won 70 percent of contested Michigan House primary races.
A lot of this money comes from political action groups, in part because Michigan law lets them donate more than individuals.
But state Representative Martin Howrylak is trying to change this with a new bill.
Craig Mauger is with the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
“Representative Howrylak is basically saying I want to take on the structural inequity in this system. It’s structurally flawed. It’s putting special interest groups above individuals.”
Howrylak’s bill would reduce the amount a PAC can donate to a candidate from 10 times the amount an individual can donate to 5 times the amount.