Section 169.257 - Contributions, expenditures, or volunteer personal services; prohibitions; violation as misdemeanor; penalty.
MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 388 of 1976
169.257 Contributions, expenditures, or volunteer personal services; prohibitions; violation as misdemeanor; penalty.
Sec. 57.
(1) A public body or an individual acting for a public body shall not use or authorize the use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, or other public resources to make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services that are excluded from the definition of contribution under section 4(3)(a). This subsection does not apply to any of the following:
(a) The expression of views by an elected or appointed public official who has policy making responsibilities.
(b) The production or dissemination of factual information concerning issues relevant to the function of the public body.
(c) The production or dissemination of debates, interviews, commentary, or information by a broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical or publication in the regular course of broadcasting or publication.
(d) The use of a public facility owned or leased by, or on behalf of, a public body if any candidate or committee has an equal opportunity to use the public facility.
(e) The use of a public facility owned or leased by, or on behalf of, a public body if that facility is primarily used as a family dwelling and is not used to conduct a fund-raising event.
(f) An elected or appointed public official or an employee of a public body who, when not acting for a public body but is on his or her own personal time, is expressing his or her own personal views, is expending his or her own personal funds, or is providing his or her own personal volunteer services.
(2) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both, or if the person is not an individual, by 1 of the following, whichever is greater:
(a) A fine of not more than $20,000.00.
(b) A fine equal to the amount of the improper contribution or expenditure.
History: Add. 1995, Act 264, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 590, Eff. Mar. 31, 1997 ;-- Am. 2001, Act 250, Eff. Mar. 22, 2002
Compiler's Notes: Section 2 of Act 264 of 1995 provides:“If any portion of this amendatory act or the application of this amendatory act to any person or circumstance is found to be invalid by a court, the invalidity does not affect the remaining portions or applications of this amendatory act that can be given effect without the invalid portion or application, if those remaining portions are not determined by the court to be inoperable. To this end, this amendatory act is declared to be severable.”