Today there were two steps forward on issues that I have written extensively about in this blog. One by the House of Representatives and the other by the Michigan Senate.
A new speaker, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has been elected in the House. He has 23 days to deliver a solution to keep the government operating that will be approved by the Democrat controlled senate and by President Biden. Good luck in making that happen and remain in the job.
__________________________________________________________
As reported by Bridge Michigan, bills introduced in the state Senate Tuesday would make Michigan the second-to-last state to require public financial disclosures from most elected officials and candidates but would allow filers to leave out specifics that transparency experts say are crucial to identifying possible conflicts of interest.
The rules were mandated by a constitutional amendment passed by voters last year, and require officials to disclose all income sources that exceed $1,000 as well as assets, stocks, bonds, unearned income and liabilities exceeding $10,000.
…..The rules don’t require elected officials to disclose travel paid by nonprofits or other political groups. Such disclosures potentially would have deterred secret junkets and other spending lavished on former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who is now under criminal investigation for alleged financial impropriety.
“That’s fairly standard among the 48 other states that already have financial disclosure laws”, said Nicholas Pigeon, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit watchdog group tracking money in politics. Idaho is the only other state that doesn’t require officials to disclose their finances.
But the legislation as written doesn’t require specificity beyond that, unlike Congress and many other states, which require officials to report a value range on assets and income sources.
Also notable in the new legislation is its approach to gift disclosures. The ballot initiative that passed only requires lawmakers to report gifts from lobbyists or their agents — something they’re already required to disclose.
Advocates had hoped the legislation might go further and require the disclosure of gifts from other sources — such as the secret junkets taken by former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Levering Republican who is now under criminal investigation for alleged financial impropriety and sexual assault.
Lawmakers have until the end of the year to pass disclosure regulations to avoid exposing the state to lawsuits. The Senate Oversight Committee is scheduled to discuss the plan during a Wednesday morning hearing.
Quote of the Day: “Disappointing. If there isn’t an itemized disclosure, or at least a categorical disclosure of the source of earning long term income, this would be a very weak law, compared to the rest of the country. That’s where we see a lot of the sausage-making in politics, where they’re rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers in the national scene.” And under the new legislation, “they still don’t have to disclose it.” Nicholas Pigeon, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit watchdog group tracking money in politics.
Question of the Day: Why is it so hard for politicians to do the right thing for the good of the citizens versus the good of their pocketbook?
__________________________________________________________
The World Series is set with two surprise teams. The Arizona Diamondbacks from the National League will take on the Texas Ranger from the American League. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series. I look for this series to have one of the lowest TV ratings in World Series history.
__________________________________________________________
Speaking of baseball. On October 21, in game five of the NLCS., home plate umpire Lance Barksdale called 128 of 129 pitches accurately according to the website umpscorecards.com. His accuracy rate of 99.2% is one of the highest ever recorded during a playoff game. Lance gets my Orchid of the Day
Feel free to share my blog or to sign up to receive it directly in your email. See the sign-up below the Video of the Day.
Quote of the Day: “I’m covering life and death issues, serious tragedies, serious momentous occurrences here in Israel and of course in Gaza,” he said today. But, he said, “We have to interrupt this for one moment to cover the complete and utter clown car that is the House Republicans’ Speaker’s race.” CNN’s Jake Trapper yesterday.
Orchid of the Day: MLB Umpire Lance Barksdale. See above story.
Onion of the Day: No onion today.
Question of the Day: See above.
Video/Image of the Day: umpscorecard.com’s ranking of home plate umpire Lance Barksdale’s calls in game five of the NLCS on October 21.
Lee Chatfield is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Under questioning from the Petoskey News Review editorial board years ago, Chatfield painted a picture of a good public servant. But, the Chatfield we know, was collaborating with the rich and famous to further his agenda. Michigan must punish him as any other citizen guilty of crimes. What is taking so long…