A ballot proposal campaign that aims to ban some of Michigan’s largest corporations from spending money on state politics submitted on Wednesday more than 562,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s office.

The filing might set off a high-stakes battle in Michigan, entangling powerful utilities, like DTE Energy, and insurance heavyweights, such as
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, while potentially testing the legal ability of the public to limit the political influence of big businesses.

If approved by voters in November, the initiative from Michiganders for Money Out of Politics would amend state campaign finance law to prohibit contributions from monopoly utilities and companies with state government contracts worth more than $250,000.

It would also attempt to shine light on cash from secret sources — or so- called dark money. Under current law, only groups that run ads expressly telling people how to vote have to report their donors. Michiganders for Money Out of Politics would expand the disclosure requirements to ads that clearly identify candidates.

“Voters in Michigan will get to vote this November to ban the corrupt campaign donations flowing from regulated utilities, like DTE and Consumers and corporations with contracts with the state of Michigan, like Blue Cross Blue Shield,” said Christy McGillivray, co-chairwoman of the steering committee for Michiganders for Money Out of Politics. “These are the same companies who are not checked when they raise our utility bills, when they raise our health care premiums, because they are the ones funding the politicians who are supposed to be representing us.”