LANSING – A bill OK'd Wednesday by a Senate committee — already flagged for providing additional shields to conceal the identities of "dark money" donors — would also restrict the powers of the Attorney General's Office to oversee charities that solicit money from the public.

Policing 501c3 charities, which number more than 8,000 in Michigan, and exposing and shutting down fraudulent charities is among the roles of Michigan's chief law enforcement officer, the Attorney General's Office.

Under current law, the books of those charities, including the identities of charity members and donors, are open to inspection by the Attorney General's Office. Attorney General Bill Schuette said recently his office had stepped up its efforts to go after fraudulent charities, which represent a small fraction of the total number but have defrauded Michigan residents of millions of dollars over the years.

Under Senate Bill 1176, introduced by incoming Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, such information could be disclosed only pursuant to a court-ordered warrant, or a civil subpoena after the requesting party has demonstrated a "compelling need" for the information and agreed to a protecting order barring disclosure of the information to a third party.

"That is exactly the intent," Shirkey told the Free Press on Wednesday after the Senate Committee on Michigan Competitiveness, which he chairs, voted 4-1 to send the bill to the full Senate during the Legislature's lame-duck session.

Officials from the Attorney General's Office would be able to look at a charity's books if they have enough information to get a court order, so legitimate investigations would not be hampered, Shirkey said. But under his bill, "they can't just do it because they want to."

Shirkey's bill, which he dubbed the "Personal Privacy Protection Act," is one of at least two examples of Republican lame-duck bills that would limit the powers of Democrats who on Jan. 1 will take control of the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state, as a result of defeating Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 general election.

Another lame-duck bill, Senate Bill 1197, would complicate pledges by Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline across the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac. The bill, sponsored by Sen.Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, would help enshrine a controversial agreement between outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder and Enbridge that would provide for construction of a tunnel to encase Line 5 and continuation of a state-issued easement that Whitmer and Nessel want to revoke.

The bill affecting charities and nonprofits would bar Nessel, as well as Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson, from requiring 501c4 nonprofits to disclose to their agencies — let alone to the public — the identities of financial donors, members, supporters or volunteers.

Nonprofits organized under Section 501c4 of the Internal Revenue Code are known as social welfare agencies and are commonly used to pay for "issue ads" that target political candidates during election season. Unlike ads paid for by political parties and candidates, ads funded by these social welfare organizations don't have to disclose the identities of those bankrolling the ads.

Proponents of the legislation say it will protect supporters of unpopular causes from potential intimidation and harassment.

But the bill would also severely restrict access to such information from traditional charities that solicit money and issue tax receipts and are organized under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Nobody from the current Attorney General's Office or Secretary of State's Office testified or submitted a card stating a position on the bill when it was taken up Wednesday.

Officials at the AG's Office did not respond to questions about whether they were concerned the legislation could hamper their efforts to police and expose fraudulent charities.

Nessel, who was in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, attending a meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General, called the legislation "shameful" in a Facebook post.

She said she was learning at the conference about strategies to hold charities for disabled veterans accountable when they scam the public and the veterans they purport to serve.

"Meanwhile, back at home, our state Legislature is working feverishly to pass laws which limit my ability to protect Michigan residents and veterans against such illegal and unethical conduct," Nessel wrote. "This is shameful," she said, urging no votes on what she called a "ham-handed effort to shield dark money," which will also hurt veterans and others who can be taken advantage of by fraudulent charities.

The Council of Michigan Foundations, which describes itself as "a leading voice with policy makers at the state and national levels on regulatory and legislative issues affecting Michigan philanthropy." is still studying the bill and has no comment on it, spokeswoman Bridget McGuiggan said Wednesday.

Fred Woodhams, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said Wednesday the department hasn't taken a position on the bill, which does not change any current provisions of Michigan campaign finance law.

A spokeswoman for Benson said she opposes the bill, based on her desire to increase donor transparency.

"Transparency was among Jocelyn Benson's campaign priorities for good reason,' said Benson spokeswoman Liz Boyd.

"Michigan is last among states when it comes to disclosure. Given that a majority supported her priorities, it's our hope lawmakers would work together to take us from worst to first in government accountability. Unfortunately, this bill goes in the wrong direction by exempting dark money contributions that fund independent expenditures from disclosure.”

Schuette’s Charitable Trust Section has ramped up its enforcement of Michigan’s law prohibiting deceptive charitable solicitations, Schuette's office said in a Nov. 21 news release.

More:Whitmer and Nessel expected to fight Line 5 tunnel agreement

More:Schuette: Hundreds of charity bins in metro Detroit operating illegally

The release highlighted several instances in which Schuette's office shut down charities that were rippling off the public or secured fines for fraudulent activity.

The Shirkey bill would prevent Michigan's attorney general from requiring charities to disclose donor information — only to the government agency, not to the public — as a condition of obtaining registration. California's attorney general imposed such a requirement in 2010. Groups such as Americans for Prosperity, backed by the wealthy and conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch, challenged the requirement in court, and Schuette filed a brief in support of American for Prosperity's position.

Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, told the committee that Shirkey's bill should be dubbed the "Dark Money Protection Act."

But Zac Morgan, staff attorney for the Virginia-based Institute for Free Speech, told the committee the bill is "a victory for First Amendment freedoms." It will protect backers of unpopular positions from harassment and intimidation, prevent government enforcement actions against charities based on who their donors are, and avoid situations in which donor identities become public as a result of hacking of a government website, Morgan said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.