(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/09/2024) Michigan lobbyists will need to change how they operate when offering tickets or accommodations at a policy conference to legislators after a pair of Secretary of State interpretative rulings became official.  

Going forward, lobbyists are not able to give legislators concert or sporting event tickets that are over the $76 gift limit on the promise that those lawmakers can pay the lobbyist outfit later for any overage, according to the ruling. 

Also, lobbyists can’t comp a lawmakers’ visit to an educational conference if admission is over the $76 gift limit, wrote Christina Hildreth Anderson, chief of staff for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.  

“This does have quite an impact on the culture of the Capitol, and it should,” said attorney Bob LaBrant, who asked for a ruling on the ticket-related gift limit question.  

Historically, Lansing lobbyists have operated around the gift limit this way: Lobbyist offers legislator a ticket over the gift limit. Legislator uses the ticket. Lobbyist sends legislator a letter asking to be reimbursed for the difference over the $76 gift limit. Lawmaker sometimes pays, sometimes doesn’t. Matter forgotten.  

In the other instance, a lobbyist offers a legislator to come to their conference at a resort location. Legislator attends. Since the event is seen as an “educational event” -- a professional development directly connected to the job of learning about a specific issue – room, meals and access to the conference are covered.   

Again, sometimes the lobbyist agent will report the expenditures. Sometimes they won’t.  

Not anymore.  

“It introduces a certain level of corruption when there’s a wink and a nod,” LaBrant said. “It creates a culture of entitlement.”  

Now, if a legislator wants tickets to an event, the lobbyist can only sell the tickets to the official over $76 for the full price of what the ticket would yield on the open market as opposed to the ticket’s face value.  

The payment needs to be made before the event or else the Secretary of State would consider it a loan.  

The final ruling came after the Secretary of State sent out a preliminary ruling last month that it was heading in this direction.  

In response, Lasky Fifarek, P.C. questioned the timing of the ruling with the fall sports season coming up. Writing on behalf of an unnamed client, the law firm noted that upcoming events have already been bought.  

Also, “fair market value of a ticket” fluctuates wildly and isn’t a fair indicator of how much a ticket costs, the law firm wrote.  

LaBrant said the idea that the Secretary of State should postpone its ruling until after football season because tickets have already been bought was “priceless.”