LANSING – In a move to increase transparency and accountability in elections and political campaigns, State Representatives Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) and Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak) today announced legislation requiring automated telephone calls targeted at voters – or "robocalls" – to clearly state the identity of the person paying for the call. The plan, which passed unanimously out of the House Ethics and Elections Committee, requires the disclaimer to occur at the beginning of the phone call. It further restricts the time when robocalls can be made to between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
"This is about making campaigns more transparent and accountable," said Brown, a member of the House Ethics and Elections Committee who sponsored the plan. "As voters, we have a right to know who is contacting us. This plan closes a loophole that allows robocallers to contact us anonymously at all hours of the day and night without identifying themselves."
Currently, the Michigan Campaign Finance Act requires that campaign materials and TV and radio ads contain the name and address of the person paying for them and a disclaimer by the candidate. The law does not address telephone or electronic campaigning, allowing the communications to make unsubstantiated claims with no acknowledgement of the source. Brown's plan calls for these telephone and electronic campaign communications to add a disclaimer stating who is behind the communication.
Violating the new provisions of the plan would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in prison and fines of $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second offense and $2,500 for three or more offenses.
"Citizens should not be harassed by this type of unregulated behavior," said Donigan, who also is a member of the House Ethics and Elections Committee. "This legislation will help save our residents from the headache of having to deal with these kinds of anonymous campaign calls that are too often designed to deceive and confuse people. By taking this action, we are increasing transparency and protecting voters' rights."