LANSING — Action is expected to shift to the House this week on a controversial lame-duck bill to shift responsibility for campaign finance enforcement away from the Secretary of State's Office.

The proposal is seen as part of a pattern of actions by the GOP-controlled Legislature that would weaken the offices of the governor or put roadblocks in the way of Democratic plans, attorney general, or secretary of state before Democrats take over those posts from Republicans on Jan. 1,

In an affront to Democratic Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson, the Senate on Thursday voted to remove campaign finance enforcement from her control.

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Instead, under a package of bills approved by votes of 25-11, the Senate voted to shift the enforcement of campaign finance laws to a Fair Political Practices Commission composed of three Republicans and three Democrats.

The bills now move to the state House amid a frenetic lame-duck session of the Legislature, featuring numerous controversial bills in which Republicans appear intent on setting up roadblocks for incoming Democrats who are taking over the governor's, attorney general's and secretary of state's offices.

Opponents said the proposed six-member commission is a recipe for deadlock and inaction, similar to what is found at the Federal Election Commission.

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And they highlighted the fact that the main sponsor of the bill package, Sen. Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, has a history of campaign finance violations, having been fined more than $4,000 since 2012 and as of this week still owing the state close to $1,700 in fines.

"Voters did not send us here to make it easier for negligent politicians to hide campaign finance violations," said Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren.

Robertson said a bipartisan commission will assure greater fairness.

In the House, the bill hasn’t been scheduled for a committee hearing yet, but Speaker Tom Leonard, R-Dewitt, said he plans on taking “a strong look” at the legislation.

“It’s something we’re going to have to discuss as a caucus,” he said. “I told the Senate that if they sent it over here I would take a strong look. That’s what I intend to do.”

As for the state becoming part of a national narrative of Republican legislatures trying to limit the authority of Democrats who are assuming statewide offices in Wisconsin and Michigan, Leonard said he doesn’t see it that way.

A bill passed in the House of Representatives last week would allow the House and Senate to intervene in any case brought against the state, even against the positions being taken by the newly elected Attorney General and Governor, Democrats Dana Nessel and Gretchen Whitmer.

“That was good public policy," Leonard said. "That was giving the legislative bodies a voice at the table.”

Eric Doster, an attorney who often represents Republicans, said the bill is nothing out of the ordinary.

"This idea is not new," he said. "And under the Michigan constitution, there is no role for the secretary of state for elections and campaign finance. It's only authorized in statute."

But Benson issued a statement describing the bill package as "an affront to every taxpayer who wants and deserves a government that is transparent and accountable."

She called on House members to reject what she said is a "hyper-partisan' move to "gut enforcement of Michigan campaign finance law."

Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, said "there is no reason to think that this will work," and just as happens with the FEC, the three Republicans and three Democrats on the commission will almost never agree whether the law has been broken or not.

Benson will be the first Democrat to hold the office since 1994, when incumbent Richard Austin lost to Republican Candice Miller.

Some Republican lawmakers have said the campaign finance proposal is little different than a voter-approved constitutional amendment, approved by voters in November, that would move redistricting away from the partisan Legislature and shift that job to an independent citizen's commission.

However, there are differences. The Bureau of Elections in the Secretary of State's Office, staffed and headed by nonpartisan civil servants, has not been known for partisan enforcement of the state's campaign enforcement. Also, the 13-member redistricting commission is to include five commissioners not affiliated with either major political party and would not be prone to gridlock in the way a six-member body with equal representation from Republicans and Democrats would.

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