LANSING, Mich. (WOWO) — Following a national spike in political threats and violence, Michigan lawmakers are moving to expand police powers for legislators and to allow elected officials to redact personal information from public records.
The new law, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, increases the authority of the Legislature’s sergeants-at-arms to investigate threats and provide security outside the state Capitol at the direction of elected officials. The measure was part of a budget compromise that included $6 million in additional funding for legislative security.
State Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, said the legislation would give her protection at home after protesters demonstrated outside her house earlier this year, a scene she described as frightening for her children. “It’s unacceptable,” Rigas said of protesters taping posters over windows.
In addition, lawmakers are advancing bills that would allow elected officials — including legislators, judges, and statewide officers — to request that their personal information, including home addresses, telephone numbers, license plates, and employer addresses, be removed from public databases. The redactions would be lifelong and exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests.
Critics argue the measures threaten government transparency and may not address the root causes of political violence. “It gives police powers to legislative leaders who may, in the future, not discharge those responsibilities in an ethical way,” said Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who voted against the sergeant-at-arms bill. Irwin also called the millions spent on beefed-up security a “huge waste of money.”
House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richfield, defended the legislation as narrowly tailored to protect lawmakers, noting that sergeants would not have general policing powers outside threats to legislators. “The purpose is to protect elected officials, and in order to do that, you have to expand the jurisdictions of the sergeants,” Hall said.
The personal information redaction bills have passed one chamber each and may require additional “trailer legislation” to reconcile conflicts with voter-approved transparency laws. House Judiciary Chair Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, emphasized that the goal is privacy, not hiding residency fraud.
The legislation comes amid a broader national conversation over political threats, with surveys showing a significant portion of state lawmakers experiencing abuse and intimidation in recent years.
