LANSING, Mich. — Governor Rick Snyder signed a controversial bill Friday that allows Michigan politicians to accept double the campaign contributions from individuals and political action committees.
The new law allows an individual to donate up to $6,800 to a candidate for statewide office, $2,000 to a candidate for state Senate and $1,000 to a candidate for state House.
According to MLive,independent political action committees can donate up to ten times as much as an individual. Organizations like Right to Life Michigan or the United Auto Workers union will now be able to donate up to $68,000 to a gubernatorial candidate in the 2014 election cycle.
Snyder says that the bill also updates 40-year-old campaign finance laws and requires more “transparency and openness to the state’s political system.”
The bill requires that organizations behind political ads identify themselves, something they haven’t previously had to do, according to a release from the governor Friday.
The measure passed the Republican-led legislature with support from one independent and no Democrats.
