What's the Problem?
Michigan’s government should work for the people — not career politicians or corporations
But corporate influence in Michigan’s government is destroying our democracy.
In 2022 — the last time every seat in the Michigan Legislature was on the ballot — 138 of 148 state legislators, or 93%, had accepted political contributions from DTE’s Political Action Committee (PAC), its executives and lobbyists, or both, over the course of their careers, according to an Energy and Policy Institute analysis of state campaign finance records.
At the same time, Michiganders are paying the highest energy rates in the region and deal with the worst reliability. As energy utility political spending goes up, so do our rates. How do they get away with it?
- Pay-to-Play Politics: Deep-pocketed corporations buy influence with our elected officials that impacts the laws and regulations they pass.
- Issue Ad Loophole: Corporations use dark money groups to spend even more in our elections, hiding the source of that money from the public.
What's the Solution?
Proposal 2 will get money out of politics in Michigan and end the pay-to-play corruption
Michigan voters will see Proposal 2 on the November 2026 ballot. A Yes vote on Proposal 2 will:
- Ban monopoly utilities and corporations with large state or local government contracts from making campaign contributions to elected officials who regulate them or hand out their contracts.
- Combat dark money by closing the “issue ad loophole” and requiring disclosure of ad spending and modernizing Michigan’s campaign finance disclosure requirements.
Over 80% of Michigan voters support Proposal 2.
Michiganders across party lines are ready to reduce the influence of corporate money in politics and make their elected officials more accountable to the people.
Michigan Proposal 2026-2 Explained
It's time for Michigan voters to vote YES on 2. Here's what that means:
A YES vote on Michigan Proposal 2 means:
- Getting Money Out of Politics: Proposal 2 prohibits monopoly utilities (like DTE & Consumers Energy) and big government contractors (like Blue Cross Blue Shield) from donating to politicians who regulate them and hand out their contracts.
- Ending Pay-to-Play Politics: Proposal 2 cracks down on pay-to-play politics to ensure Michigan’s government works for the people, not career politicians.
- Shedding Light on Campaign Spending: Proposal 2 stops big donors from hiding who they are so voters know who’s paying to influence Michigan’s elections.
A NO vote on Michigan Proposal 2 means:
- Michigan continues to be controlled by a corrupt, pay-to-play political system where our democracy is for sale to the highest bidder.
- Career politicians can continue to trade favors and government contracts for campaign cash from monopoly utility companies and big government contractors.
- Corporations can continue to drown out the voices of Michiganders and buy influence with our elected officials.
- Politicians continue to put corporations — not Michiganders — first.
What Michigan Proposal 2 Does
1 — Ban political donations from monopoly utilities.
Regulated electric and gas utilities — DTE, Consumers Energy, and others — could no longer contribute to state officeholders, candidates, or political party committees who regulate them.
2 — Ban political donations from big government contractors.
Corporations with more than $250,000 annually in state or local government contracts would be prohibited from contributing to candidates for offices in the jurisdiction of those contracts.
3 — Close the "issue ad loophole."
Close Michigan’s “issue ad loophole” by requiring disclosure when groups spend $5,000 or more on covered political advertising within 100 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election.
4 — Apply disclosure rules to online ads.
Michigan’s “paid for by” requirements were written before digital advertising. Proposal 2 modernizes disclosure requirements so political advertising on the internet and digital platforms is expressly covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this problem?
Michigan’s government should work for people, not powerful corporations or special interests. But regulated monopoly utilities and big government contractors use political contributions to drown out the voices of everyday Michiganders on issues that matter to us. Campaign ads purchased by dark money groups that hide their funders from the public can sway public opinion anonymously. Big money in Michigan politics means special interests win over voters.
What would Proposal 2 do?
Proposal 2 would:
- Ban regulated utilities from contributing to state officeholders and political party committees
- Ban corporations with state or local government contracts (of more than $250,000 annually) from contributing to candidates for state or local offices in the jurisdiction of the contract
- Close the “issue ad loophole” by mandating disclosure of ad spending of $5,000 or more by dark money groups 100 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary election
- Modernize Michigan’s campaign finance disclosure requirements to expressly apply to political ads on the internet and digital platforms
Who is Michiganders For Money Out Of Politics?
Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP) is a grassroots nonpartisan campaign working to get big money out of our state elections. The MMOP coalition includes: Clean Water Action, Climate Cabinet, Detroit Action, Hip Hop Caucus Action Fund, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Michigan United Action, MOSES Action, and Voters Not Politicians.
Who is banned from contributing?
The ban would include the principal employees of the affected utilities and large contractors, the board members of these entities, and the immediate families of these same people. They would be banned from making direct contributions to the candidates and officeholders who regulate them, and the parties and committees who contribute directly to those campaigns.
If a utility company donates to a legislator, does that mean they lose their contract with the State?
They would not have a contract with the State unless they forgo their right to make contributions. For corporations that have contracts with the state and/or local governments in excess of $250,000 annually, the policy would ban them from contributing to candidates for state office, political parties, or other candidate or party affiliated entities. These contributions would be banned from when negotiations for the contract commence or the request for proposal is released until 18 months after the contract ends.
If I am a line worker for DTE and my company has a contract over $250,000 with the state, can I as an individual donor outside of work, as just a citizen make a contribution like any other person?
The average line worker (for example) would not have their contributions limits changed in any way. The following people count as an employee/affiliate for the purposes of this policy change:
- A person who holds more than 50% ownership of the entity
- A member of the entity’s board of directors
- Individuals employed as President, CEO, Treasurer, or officer with similar responsibilities
- Entity’s lobbyist or lobbyist agent
- Immediate family of all those above
If entities wish to keep their government contracts, can they only donate the amount an individual can?
Under this policy, there would be no legal amount they could contribute.
Will this affect unions and union members?
The policy explicitly excludes collective bargaining agreements from the section of the policy that bans corporations that have a contract with the state valued at $250,000 or more from political giving. You can read the language yourself in section 30B. Additionally, the grants that unions receive from the state could be impacted, so those are also excluded quite explicitly, which you can read in section 30B (9)(A). Unions and individual union members will not be impacted by the policy changes in the petition. We have been working closely with Labor to make sure they understand that they will not be impacted.
Does this require any legislative spending?
We do not foresee any expenses to implement these changes. However, the opposition will likely try to say that it will cost taxpayers money. There is no evidence of that.
How much money have donations been (to each candidate individually)?
This is difficult to answer accurately. In part due to the number of candidates, PACs, and political parties that have existed over the years; but more so because of the massive amount of money coming into our politics and the lack of disclosure laws here in Michigan. There are thousands of corporations who make political contributions in Michigan alone. Here is a chart that outlines the sum total of just the oil and gas contributions.
If you’re interested in learning more about a specific legislator and how much corporate money they have received over the years, you can take a look at campaign finance records here.
If passed by the voters, does the legislature have the ability to change the policies by implementing less effective language?
There is very little left unclear or up for determination in the policy. There is one section that pertains to the Secretary of State implementing processes to administer this, but that’s it. Since it just changes the rules about contributions, there’s very little to actually implement, leaving it mostly Legislature-proof.