LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Child care for politicians? They probably need it…But instead of letting them take a nap on a mat halfway through their day and handing them an apple and a juice box, the legislation that we’re discussing is an attempt by Michigan Democratic legislators to allow political candidates in the state to write off child care costs as a campaign expense.

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Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent out a press release yesterday about legislation in support of “mothers running for political office.” She was referring to the introduction of Senate Bill 278 (Chang) and House Bill 4413 (Hood). The bills amend the Michigan Campaign Finance Act so that “public officials” can use campaign funds to pay for child care costs.”

Benson said about the bills, “Thank you Senator Chang and Representative Hood for introducing legislation that would explicitly state that campaign funds can pay for child care costs and for helping level the playing field for mothers seeking leadership roles in their communities. I will continue to work with you to ensure that mothers running for office have the support they need to put in the countless evening, weekend and holiday hours that successful campaigns require and that strengthen our democracy.”

Although Benson had referred to the bills as legislation that will support “mothers running for office,” the bills actually takes out the gender pronouns of “his” and “her” and replace the words with the phrase “public official.”

The legislation covers child care expenses for the public official and their staff to attend a conference, meeting, reception or other similar event. It defines a “caregiving expense” as “the costs of direct care, protection, and supervision of a child or other person with a disability or medical condition for whom an individual has direct caregiving responsibility. Caregiving expenses does not include private school tuition, medical expenses, tutoring services, or payments to a relative, unless the relative owns or operates professional day-care or babysitting service and the cost of the service is no greater than the relative would otherwise charge.”

The legislation goes on to say that it covers “Caregiving expenses that result directly from a candidate engaging in campaign activities.”

Senator Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and state Rep. Rachel Hood (D-Grand Rapids) had introduced similar legislation back in February of 2022 but without the gender pronoun changes. The legislation was referred to the committee on elections and never went anywhere.

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The Michigan House Democrats made a statement that said the legislation would “remove a significant obstacle that many candidates, particularly those who are mothers, face when running for office. By taking this step and authorizing the use of campaign funds for child care and dependent care, Michigan can empower more working parents and caregivers to run for office.”

Liuba Grechen Shirley, Founder and CEO of Vote Mama Foundation said about the legislation, “The cost of caring for a family should never be the reason a candidate cannot run for office. I applaud Sen. Chang and Rep. Hood for spearheading critical legislation that will help bring more working parents and caregivers to the decision making table in Michigan. I launched Vote Mama Foundation because I envisioned a future in which no political candidate would have to consider the cost of child care when weighing the decision to run for office. With the introduction of (Senate and House bills), we are now one step closer to inclusion and empowerment for parents and caregivers everywhere.”

Vote Mama Foundation is the only organization tracking the use of Campaign Funds for Childcare and working to pass legislation in all 50 states by 2023.  

 Rep. Hood also released a statement about the legislation. She said, “We need to do all we can to make running for office more accessible. While comprehensive campaign finance reform remains elusive, allowing candidates to use campaign dollars to cover the cost of care for their dependent family members, is a common-sense solution…Those of us who have the privilege of caring for children, differently-abled family members, or seniors, are incredibly well-prepared to serve in office through the vantage point of their own experience. If this bill allows one more responsible caretaker to run for office, who wouldn’t be able to otherwise, it can be considered a success.”

Both bills have been referred to the committees on elections.