Michigan lawmakers move to boost the powers of their own police forces

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers have taken extraordinary steps in recent weeks to exempt their own personal information from public disclosure and expand the powers of their own police forces beyond the halls of the state Capitol.

The budget that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law on Oct. 7 included $6 million in spending to bolster the capabilities of the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, somewhat obscure law enforcement agencies that, under state law, are designed to enforce House and Senate rules and provide security on the Capitol grounds. The sergeants are the individuals who ask visitors to the chambers to stay seated in the galleries and monitor the movement of the legislators, staff and the media on the House and Senate floors.

On Thursday, the House and Senate both approved a bill that would give those same sergeants the ability to investigate crimes committed against Michigan lawmakers anywhere in the state. Likewise, they could provide protection for lawmakers, staff and their family members anywhere in the state, as long as the event or travel involves "official duties," according to the proposal's text.

Supporters of the moves said the changes were needed to safeguard elected officials amid an uptick in violent rhetoric and political violence, such as the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker in June. But opponents said legislators were mistakenly directing the state's limited resources to benefit themselves and giving House and Senate leaders control over police agencies with broader powers and the potential to act in secret.

Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, labeled the sergeants' bill "terrible" and the $6 million allocation to expand the legislative police agencies "embarrassing."

"We're spending millions of dollars that could be used for housing, for legislator security at town halls," Irwin said.

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said that he hoped the sergeant-at-arms legislation would help the House “to do more to protect legislators from threats.”

“Many of these threats against elected officials are not the top priority of these police departments, but for the House sergeants, that will be a very top priority,” Hall said. “So we can solve more of these cases and better protect our elected officials.”

Hall rebuffed the suggestion that the sergeants might one day be used in political ways.

“We’re not trying to, like, have sergeants just pull people over on the side of the road or investigate things that don’t have to do with the security of legislators,” Hall said.

While current state policy gives the sergeants the same arrest and law enforcement powers of traditional police officers, police agencies are subject to Michigan's open records law, meaning they have to provide certain documents when they're sought by the public. It's not immediately clear if the sergeants-at-arms would comply with the same legal requirement.

The Michigan Freedom of Information Act specifically identifies agencies in the legislative branch of state government as being subject to its transparency measures. State law identifies the sergeants-at-arms of each branch as a law enforcement agency.

Alex Rossman, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, however, claimed the sergeants would be exempt from state transparency laws.

State law does require the sergeants to file a report once a year to the House and Senate oversight and government operations committees "on the activities of the sergeants-at-arms and other matters of interest involving the security and decorum in their respective houses."

The sergeant-at-arms bill is expected to be signed into law by Whitmer, a Democrat, in the coming days.

The Republican-controlled House approved Thursday a separate measure that would give Michigan lawmakers the ability to conceal government records that feature information about properties they own, their addresses and their phones. That bill still has to go through the Democratic-led Senate.

Unanswered questions

Hall said the bill expanding the jurisdiction of House and Senate sergeants was part of the October budget agreement negotiated among the House, the Senate and the governor.

The bill wasn't discussed during a committee hearing this fall, but instead was sent directly to the House and Senate floors for votes — an unusual arrangement that meant there was little public discussion or debate over why the changes were necessary.

Two sources who were directly involved in the talks in Lansing said Hall was the driving force behind the proposal. The sources requested anonymity to discuss the matter because they weren't authorized to reveal the private conversations.

Hall spokesman Jeff Wiggins agreed that the bill was a priority for the speaker.

"Speaker Hall has been clear that this is good policy, as the safety and security of elected officials is becoming more of an issue with the threats we have seen nationwide," Wiggins said.

Unlike past speakers, Hall often walks around the state Capitol with a sergeant near him.

Traditionally, the sergeants — many of whom are retired police officers and sheriff's deputies from other agencies — provide security for lawmakers inside the House and Senate chambers and inside the House and Senate office buildings.

While state law describes the House and Senate sergeants as law enforcement agencies, their powers are currently confined to the Capitol grounds, the legislative offices, places where committees meet and the legislative parking areas.

The bill would overturn those restrictions, allowing the sergeants to have police powers in other places in the state as long as they are providing security at an event attended by a lawmaker in the course of official duties or are "investigating threats toward or crimes committed against a legislative member."

The sergeants have arrest powers and have previously detained individuals who have aggressively protested in the galleries above the House floor.

A job posting on the Michigan House website currently advertises an assistant sergeant-at-arms position.

"This full-time law enforcement position involves dignitary protection, threat assessments and investigations," the posting says. "We are looking for a candidate with law enforcement experience, a positive and professional demeanor, good moral character, and sound judgement."

The salary is $61,800 a year.

Threats and protests

The lawmaker personal information bill passed the House in a vote of 84-17 Thursday.

The sergeants' bill was approved by the House in a 101-0 vote. It survived in the Senate in a narrower vote of 20-16. Seven majority party Democrats, including Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, and Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield, the Senate's president pro tem, voted in opposition.

Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, also voted no. Geiss said the bill was unnecessary as the Michigan State Police and local agencies already provide protection for lawmakers facing threats or can investigate potential crimes.

There's also the possibility that a House and Senate leader might not treat opposition party members or critics fairly, she noted.

"Would they necessarily agree with a legislator saying, 'I'm scared?'" Geiss asked.

The bill leaves decisions on whether to dispatch sergeants up to the House speaker and Senate majority leader — partisan offices that have been used occasionally in the past to punish members of the other party.

But state Rep. Sarah Lightner, the Springport Republican who sponsored the bills, suggested a recent incident during which demonstrators showed up outside Republican state Rep. Angela Rigas’ Alto home showed the need for expanded sergeant policing powers.

Local police failed to address the issue in the way House sergeants might, Lightner contended.

“Rather than them considering it harassment, her locals treated it the same as if you’re canvassing," Lightner said.

Rigas said that after the protest at her home, House sergeants appeared to take the threat more seriously than local police and had her bring in the signed poster taped to her front door by protesters. She also argued the state’s trespassing law should be changed to address individuals who approach front doors to “threaten and intimidate.”

“We just want to be safe,” Rigas said. “We knowingly put ourselves in the public eye, sure, but to put our family in danger is not OK.”

Kent County Sheriff Sgt. Scott Dietrich said the department recognized Rigas’ concerns and how unsettling it was for her family. Deputies properly documented all evidence when they responded to Rigas’ home, he said, and a house watch has been set up to ensure her continued safety.

“The protesters left when asked, made no threats, and caused no property damage,” Dietrich said. “While their behavior was unnerving for Representative Rigas and her family, it did not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges under Michigan law.”

When asked if the sergeants' reports would be subject to public records requests, the Lightner said she was unsure. Lightner defended the legislation shielding lawmakers’ addresses and personal information from public records, arguing it was necessary to protect elected officials from heightened political violence.

“It’s very difficult already to find good people to run for office, and then you have all these keyboard commandos making threats,” Lightner said. “You can clearly see it got very wide support because all members are feeling this pressure.”

Former Sen. Rick Jones, a former Eaton County sheriff, also voiced support for the legislation, recalling a situation when a caller to his Senate office said the senator wouldn't survive the weekend.

Asked if the sergeants would be able to obtain search warrants for their investigations through judges, Jones guessed they could under the legislation.

Rossman, the Senate Democratic spokesman, said the legislation requires sergeants to coordinate with other state and local law enforcement in any investigation.

"Practically, we expect that, in all aspects of an investigation, our sergeants will work with state and local law enforcement, including to the extent a search warrant may be needed," Rossman said.

Both the House and Senate said they weren't certain, as of Friday, how many additional sergeants they would add to their staffs through the new funding expansion.