Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules  
Administrative Rules Division (ARD)  
[email protected]  
REQUEST FOR RULEMAKING (RFR)  
1. Department:  
State  
2. Bureau:  
Elections & Campaign Finance  
3. Promulgation type:  
Full Process  
4. Title of proposed rule set:  
Campaign Finance Reports, Contributions, and Expenditures  
5. Rule numbers or rule set range of numbers:  
R 168.351 - R 168.399  
6. Estimated time frame:  
6 months  
Name of person filling out RFR:  
Jenny McInerney  
E-mail of person filling out RFR:  
McInerneyJ1@michigan.gov  
Phone number of person filling out RFR:  
517-331-7825  
Address of person filling out RFR:  
430 W. Allegan St  
Lansing, MI 48918  
7. Describe the general purpose of these rules, including any problems the changes are intended  
to address.  
The most recent update to these rules was 25 years ago, and many have not been updated in 46  
years. Campaign financing has changed substantially in that time. While many of those changes  
are reflected in the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (MCFA), the MCFA is silent on certain topics  
and requires Administrative Rules to fill the gap. In an effort to make the Rules easier to navigate  
for filers and easier to amend if needed, the six parts of the current Campaign Financing ruleset  
will be split into multiple rulesets, each targeted to a specific topic. This ruleset will address  
campaign finance reports, contributions, and expenditures. It will modernize the existing rules for  
those areas to align them with current practice and policies. It will also address issues that are not  
fully addressed by the MCFA, such as social media expenditures and late contribution reports.  
8. Please cite the specific promulgation authority for the rules (i.e. department director,  
commission, board, etc.).  
The secretary of state. MCL 169.215.  
A. Please list all applicable statutory references (MCLs, Executive Orders, etc.).  
MCL 169.215 (general authority)  
MCL 169.223 (regarding withdrawal of funds from a committee account for petty cash  
expenditures and for keeping records of the withdrawals)  
MCL 169.247(3) (authority to promulgate rules regarding size and placement of identification or  
disclaimer related to printed materials)  
MCL 24.239  
RFR-Page 2  
B. Are the rules mandated by any applicable constitutional or statutory provision? If so, please  
explain.  
Yes. MCL 169.215 provides: The secretary of state shall do all of the following: (e) Promulgate  
rules and issue declaratory rulings to implement this act in accordance with the administrative  
procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. MCL 169.223 and 169.247 also  
mandate rule promulgation in certain circumstances, although those circumstances will not be  
addressed in this ruleset and will instead be addressed in the other campaign finance rulesets to be  
promulgated.  
9. Please describe the extent to which the rules conflict with or duplicate similar rules,  
compliance requirements, or other standards adopted at the state, regional, or federal level.  
The rules do not conflict with or duplicate similar rules, compliance requirements, or standards  
adopted at the state, regional, or federal level.  
10. Is the subject matter of the rules currently contained in any guideline, handbook, manual,  
instructional bulletin, form with instructions, or operational memoranda?  
The proposed rules would seek to codify parts of the Committee manuals and appendices that  
currently serve as guidance from the Department, as well as declaratory rulings and interpretive  
statements on questions of campaign finance.  
11. Are the rules listed on the department’s annual regulatory plan as rules to be processed  
for the current year?  
No.  
12. Will the proposed rules be promulgated under Section 44 of the Administrative Procedures  
Act, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.244, or under the full rulemaking process?  
Full Process  
13. Please describe the extent to which the rules exceed similar regulations, compliance  
requirements, or other standards adopted at the state, regional, or federal level.  
The rules do not exceed any similar regulations, requirements, or standards.  
14. Do the rules incorporate the recommendations received from the public regarding any  
complaints or comments regarding the rules? If yes, please explain.  
Yes. The Department is promulgating these rules in response to public requests to have updated  
rules align more closely with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act and expand on aspects where  
the MCFA is silent.  
15. If amending an existing rule set, please provide the date of the last evaluation of the rules  
and the degree, if any, to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed  
the regulatory activity covered by the rules since the last evaluation.  
We are rescinding the portion of Administrative Rules that deals with this subject area and  
promulgating it as a new ruleset. The last time the existing rules were amended was 2000. Several  
intervening campaign finance-related changes have occurred in the interim. In 2002, the  
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as BRCA or the McCain-Feingold Act),  
which sought to limit certain contributions, was enacted. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court in  
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission overturned BRCA. Independent expenditure  
committees, also known as SuperPACs, were added to the MCFA in 2017, changing many of the  
rules regarding allowable contributions and coordination. Additionally, the process of reporting  
and reviewing campaign finance contributions and expenditures has become more automated in  
the intervening years, and the rules will account for new processes necessitated by that  
automation. The Rules take into account the many state and federal changes that impact the  
regulation of campaign financing.  
MCL 24.239  
RFR-Page 3  
16. Are there any changes or developments since implementation that demonstrate there is no  
continued need for the rules, or any portion of the rules?  
The proposed rules are a new ruleset and do not amend existing rules.  
17. Is there an applicable decision record (as defined in MCL 24.203(6) and required by MCL  
24.239(2))? If so, please attach the decision record.  
No  
Based on the information provided in this RFR, MOAHR concludes that there are sufficient  
policy and legal bases for approving the RFR. The RFR satisfies the requirements of the  
Administrative Procedures Act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, and Executive  
Order No. 2019-6.  
MCL 24.239  
;