The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Labor challenging the constitutionality of the process Michigan lawmakers used to approve billions of dollars in special district projects — commonly referred to as pork-barrel spending — in recent years. This spending, which is often hidden from public scrutiny, disproportionately benefits legislative districts controlled by the majority party, whether Republican or Democrat.

Under Michigan’s Constitution, earmarks directed toward a specific local or private entity must receive two-thirds support from lawmakers. This provision was first established during Michigan’s 1850 Constitutional Convention and has been in place ever since. However, legislators have routinely ignored this requirement in passing recent budgets, undermining safeguards put in place to prevent political patronage and corruption.

“Michigan’s budget process fell short of the transparency and accountability that taxpayers deserve,” said Patrick Wright, Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. “Too often, decisions were made behind closed doors, shaped by political connections rather than the broader public interest. Greater transparency and following the supermajority voting requirement would help ensure that state spending reflects the priorities of all Michigan residents, not just a select few.”

This pork spending is typically appropriated at the end of the fiscal year and added to the conference report in the form of “community enhancement grants.” In this way, the spending provision cannot be amended but only approved with an up-or-down vote of lawmakers. This vote has rarely achieved the two-thirds necessary for specific local projects. The Mackinac Center lawsuit cites two baseball stadiums — Jimmy John’s Field in Utica and Jackson Field in Lansing — which received $1.5 million and $1 million respectively. The funding was clearly aimed at those local entities and did not receive the necessary two-thirds approval from lawmakers. But money has also gone to a cricket field, a curling center, a distillery, labor unions, a green energy non-profit, developers, donors, and many other private organizations favored by lawmakers.

The Mackinac Center's lawsuit aims to restore fiscal accountability and ensure that taxpayer dollars are allocated through a transparent and constitutional process. By challenging this unconstitutional pork-barrel spending, the Mackinac Center seeks to uphold the integrity of Michigan’s budgeting process and prevent further abuse of public funds.

As Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cooley noted, “‘The state can have no favorites,’” Wright said. “Unconstitutional pork spending diverts money to the highest political purpose rather than the highest public purpose.”

Full complaint.

Case details.