LANSING – As Democratic candidates prepare to take three statewide offices on Jan. 1 — governor, attorney general and secretary of state — Republican lawmakers introduced bills Thursday to challenge their authority.

State Rep. Robert VerHeulen, R-Walker, introduced a bill that would allow the state House of Representatives and Senate to intervene in any legal proceedings involving the state, which has traditionally been the purview of the state attorney general or the governor’s office.

In addition, state Sen. David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, introduced a bill that would shift oversight of campaign finance law from the secretary of state to a six-person commission appointed by the governor. The panel members would be nominated by the state Republican and Democratic parties.

The action comes as Democrats — Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel and Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson — will claim all three statewide offices for the first time in 28 years.

The move infuriated Democrats, who said the GOP was trying to thwart the will of voters who fueled a blue wave in Michigan on Nov. 6 by electing Democrats up and down the ballot.

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Nessel “is deeply concerned and troubled by the hasty legislative efforts to push through a proposal that has not been properly vetted and appears to be an intentional effort on the part of some legislators to undermine the role of the state’s attorney general,” said Kelly Rossman, spokeswoman for Nessel’s transition team. “Those legislators pushing this law should be reminded that the people elect their attorneys general and their governors and such a proposal — should it pass — would have a dramatic and disastrous impact on the state of Michigan and its residents for years to come.”

Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Benson, said the legislative effort was “shameful.”

"Less than a month ago voters elected a military spouse, who is a nationally known election and campaign finance law expert, to administer Michigan elections. They voted for a fair, transparent, accountable and accessible democracy,” she said. “Legislative Republicans are now trying to thwart the will of the voters with bills that ignore their voices, defies history and will make Michigan a national punch line by effectively ending enforcement of the campaign finance laws they are required to abide by.”

But Gideon D’Assandro, spokesman for Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-Dewitt, said the bills represent “good government reform” that will allow legislators to have a voice in the place where many decisions about public policy are made — the courts.

“More and more often, government policy is being debated in the courts. It makes sense for the elected representatives of the people to have a voice in the process,” he said.

The bill extending access to the courts to the Legislature doesn’t supplant the authority of the governor or attorney general, D’Assandro added. “It just makes sense for the Legislature to have a seat at the table.”

The bills came up after Nessel said on the campaign trail that she would have a hard time defending some laws passed by the Legislature that she views as unconstitutional, such as allowing some adoption agencies to refuse to work with same-sex couples because of their religious beliefs.

“But that’s a different issue,” D’Assandro said. “The Legislature can compel the attorney general to defend certain laws that we’ve passed.”

The bills were introduced in the lame-duck session, which is expected to last two or three more weeks. Any bills that don’t get passed before the end of the year die and would have to be reintroduced after the three Democratic officials are sworn in. And Whitmer will have veto power over anything the new Legislature passes.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.