State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, released a statement today regarding recent reporting on a nonprofit tied to Gov. Whitmer. The organization, Road to Michigan’s Future, raised $12.9 million last year. The group is not obligated to disclose donors’ names because of its nonprofit status.

“I’m proud I voted no on the Democrat’s lackluster transparency package. Michigan is tired of secret money influencing its politics. People deserve to know if their lawmaker takes a luxury trip paid for by a nonprofit. Under the plan, elected officials remain exempt from reporting travel and gifts paid for by nonprofit groups.

“The transparency plan, ironically passed at 3 a.m., ignores longstanding dark-money loopholes. There’s a reason these ‘transparency’ votes took until the wee hours of the morning. For months, we’ve seen how nervous Democrats get about strict financial disclosure laws. Now we know one reason why.

“Last week, The Detroit News exposed a nonprofit tied to the governor, Road to Michigan’s Future, raised $12.9 million last year. Reporting says the governor’s nonprofit shared a phone number with her campaign committee. The group also reportedly paid the governor’s chief strategist over $200,000 in 2022. This isn’t some unaffiliated group. This is a targeted political operation shadow funding the governor.

“Voters constitutionally required lawmakers to pass strong financial disclosure laws. Legislators should have spent this year working on that plan. Instead, Democrats ignored the voters’ mandate. They sidestepped both Republican and conscientious Democrat input. This shortsighted politicking left us with bad bills that don’t go far enough. These continued failures will not be the end of the conversation. I’m committed to transforming Michigan into a national leader in financial transparency requirements and fiscal accountability.”

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