Bill to heighten secrecy of 'dark money' political donors sent to Snyder
LANSING — A Republican bill to put a further cloak of secrecy over the names of donors who pay for political attack ads was approved by the Legislature on Tuesday after proponents compared their plight to that of NAACP supporters during the civil rights movement.
Senate Bill 1176 passed the House in a 58-51 vote after it passed the Senate 25-12 on Nov. 19. It's now headed to Gov. Rick Snyder, who has not said whether he will sign it.
The bill is one of a raft of controversial bills on a fast track for passage in Michigan's lame-duck Legislature.
The bill would generally bar not just the public but state agencies such as the Attorney General's Office or the Secretary of State's Office from learning the identities of donors to any nonprofit group, including the "social welfare" organizations set up under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that increasingly pay for political "issue ads" that attack candidates for office.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/18/michigan-political-donors/2347965002/