TRANSPARENCY FOR RECIPIENTS OF PUBLIC FUNDS

House Bill 6034

Sponsor:  Rep. Tom McMillin

Committee:  Oversight, Reform, and Ethics

Complete to 12-2-12

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 6034 AS INTRODUCED 11-27-12

House Bill 6034 would create a new act that would require private entities that receive public funds of $1 million or more to post certain information on a publicly accessible website.  A more detailed description of the bill follows.

The bill would require that a nonpublic entity, whether for-profit or nonprofit, that received $1 million or more in public funds during a fiscal year post all of the following information for that fiscal year on a website that was accessible by the public:

·                    any union contracts it had entered into that were in force;

·                    its certified financial statement;

·                    the dollar cost of the compensation and benefits identified to each of its 10 most highly compensated employees or officers; and

·                    any contract it entered into that had a value of $25,000 or more.

The bill would prohibit a public entity in Michigan from transferring public funds with a value of $100,000 or more to a nonpublic entity in a fiscal year unless the nonpublic entity provide a written statement that it would post information described above.

Under the bill, the term "public funds" would be defined to mean money or property to which all of the following apply:  (a) it is a grant or other gratuitous transfer; (b) it is received from this state, a unit of local government of this state, or another public entity in this state that receives its funding primarily from state or local government fees or taxes; (c) it is not money or property the public entity transfers under a contract in exchange for goods or services; (d) it is not a loan that the recipient is bound to repay.

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 6034 would have no fiscal impact on state or local government.  Nonpublic entities receiving over $1.0 million in public funds would be required certain transparency steps as outlined in the provisions of the bill.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   J. Hunault

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Ben Gielczyk

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.