Governing Blueprint

I. Administrative Procedures Act, MOAHR & JCAR

Policy Objective

Restore effective legislative oversight of executive policymaking, codify the role and responsibilities of the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules (MOAHR), and strengthen the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) so that administrative rules — particularly those affecting elections and regulatory rights — cannot be enacted without appropriate legislative review and real checks and balances in place.

Background and Structural Context

The Michigan Administrative Procedures Act (APA) governs how executive branch agencies promulgate rules. The creation of MOAHR is not based in any Michigan law — it is ceremonial and has zero authority. JCAR's enforcement authority was greatly diminished more than 25 years ago, and the legislature gutted its own committee and turned its power over to the executive branch. The result is that the executive branch, including the Secretary of State's office, can create, disseminate, and enforce election laws at will. The system has run amuck.

Successive administrations have perpetuated this loophole in Michigan governance. Both Republicans and Democrats who served in critical leadership roles share responsibility for failing to fix this.

Deficiency Analysis

The Secretary of State made three important rule changes that directly conflict with state and federal law, bypassing the legislature with no transparency and no real oversight. These three violations were established through JCAR — because JCAR has no teeth.

1. Rule Set 2025-14: Mandates the destruction of all electronic poll book data 7 days after certification. Current federal law for all states is 22 months. Rule Set 2025-14 sets very strict limits on public access to metadata, hinders citizen access to basic election information, makes Freedom of Information requests obsolete, makes it impossible to validate state and local data, and risks severe penalties to clerks for willful destruction of election information.
2. Rule Set 2025-13: Creates unauthorized barriers to voter registration challenges currently protected under Michigan law (MCL 168.509 and MCL 168.512). This new rule establishes a "Personal Knowledge" and "Notarization" standard that has no basis in any Michigan law.
3. Rule Set 2025-15: Directs the use of government-provided materials for all mandatory poll challenger training. This raises serious First Amendment compelled-speech concerns. Notice requirements for these changes were not followed.

These changes appear to directly violate federal and state election laws. What Lansing needs is a Governor willing to restore a true balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.

Implementation

1. Remove MOAHR. Draft an amendment to the APA and specify penalties for noncompliance by agencies.
2. JCAR Authority Restoration: Drastically increase the authority of JCAR. Amend statutes to restore JCAR's power to suspend or block administrative rules that exceed statutory authority, with expedited procedures for election-related rules. Provide JCAR with subpoena authority and firm timelines for review.
3. Rulemaking Process Reforms: Require agencies to publish regulatory impact statements for major rules, extend public comment periods for rules affecting elections or regulated monopolies, and prohibit emergency or expedited rulemaking on election administration within defined pre-election periods unless JCAR approves.
4. Transitional Guidance and Compliance: The Governor's Office will issue executive guidance mandating agencies pause implementation of any administrative rule that alters election procedures until JCAR review is complete and the Auditor General has certified compliance with statutory obligations.

III. Freedom of Information Act Expansion & Transparency Enforcement

Policy Objective

Extend FOIA coverage to the Governor's office and the Legislature. This should have been accomplished 30 years ago. Close avenues for conducting public business through private accounts without disclosure, cap fees, tighten redaction standards, and increase penalties to ensure meaningful public access to government records.

Background and Structural Context

Significant public business increasingly occurs through personal or private channels, creating a critical transparency gap. Many public officials are using personal email addresses to conduct government business. Excessive fees and broad redactions are being used to frustrate access — local governments, especially schools, have been charging outrageous amounts to fulfill a FOIA request. Complete pages, if not numerous pages in a row, are being blacked out. Existing penalties are insufficient to deter noncompliance.

Two recurring barriers to FOIA: extensive wait times, and excessive fees.

Policy Components

1. FOIA Inclusion: Amend Michigan FOIA statutes to explicitly cover the Governor's office and the Legislature, and require disclosure of communications used to conduct public business regardless of the device or account used — including personal email addresses and personal cell phones.
2. Private Account Capture: Mandate that communications on private email accounts or personal devices that pertain to public business be retained, indexed, and produced in response to lawful FOIA requests.
3. Fee Caps and Redaction Standards: Establish a per-page ceiling that government agencies can charge. Tighten redaction standards — limit permissible redactions to narrowly tailored categories. Require itemized fee estimates for large requests.
4. Enhanced Penalties: Increase fines and punishments for avoiding, violating, or not fully cooperating with a FOIA request. Establish expedited enforcement pathways to adjudicate disputes.

Implementation Mechanisms

1. Statutory Amendment: Draft FOIA amendments to expand covered entities, define "public business" for disclosure purposes, set fee caps, and codify redaction standards.
2. Administrative Infrastructure: Require each covered office to implement records retention and archiving systems capable of capturing private-account communications and producing responsive records.
3. Enforcement: Grant the Attorney General and Auditor General enhanced investigatory tools and civil enforcement authority to pursue FOIA violations.

V. Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) & Energy Policy

Policy Objective

Restructure the governance and oversight of the MPSC to increase legislative input and transparency, protect taxpayers from unjustified rate increases, and ensure reliable service. Michigan now has one of the highest energy costs in the nation and one of the worst records on outages and restoration times. The opponents of the 2008 monopoly legislation were correct. The legislature created this situation, and it falls on the legislature to fix it.

Background and Structural Context

In August 2008 the Michigan legislature passed legislation that gave Consumers Energy and DTE a 90% guaranteed share of the Michigan power market — a monopoly. The power companies argued this would create a secure market allowing them to invest heavily in the power grid, reducing costs and reducing the number and length of power outages. Opponents argued a monopoly would eliminate competition, limit innovation, and remove any incentive to control costs. Outcomes since then have validated the opposing view.

During the 16 years of energy policy that followed, no effort was made to examine the oversight of the MPSC. The power companies currently spend millions on lobbying activities. In the 2018 primary they spent over $350,000 to defeat a single candidate. As regulated monopolies, total transparency has become critically necessary.

Phase One — Immediate Energy Policy Actions

• Repeal all green-energy mandates.
• Restore all zoning decisions to local elected officials.
• Eliminate the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy role in green-energy implementation.
• Eliminate the Department of Labor and Economic Development role in green-energy implementation.
• Direct the power companies to release their green-energy plans immediately — they were due into the MPSC in December 2025.
• Eliminate all "environmental justice" mandates in the green-energy laws.
• Expand energy choice.
• Simplify rules to allow customers to sell energy back to the grid.
• Remove all greenhouse gas language from state statutes consistent with the federal repeal of 2009 greenhouse mandates.
• Eliminate all electric-vehicle subsidies, tax incentives, and boilerplate language encouraging EV use from the budget.

MPSC Structural Changes

• Governor nominates energy experts to the MPSC board.
• Expand energy choice in Michigan.
• Require the full Michigan Senate to approve or reject all voting members within 120 days — as a record roll-call vote before the entire Senate.
• Change term lengths from six to four years; no member shall serve more than two four-year terms.
• Michigan Attorney General retains oversight responsibility.
• If a rate-increase request exceeds 5% or the rate of inflation, JCAR shall approve the rate hike.
• Empower JCAR with the needed authority to investigate and approve rate increases.
• Empower the Auditor General to serve as the research and investigation agency for JCAR — the Auditor General reports to the legislature only.
• Implement new restrictions on what expenses the power companies may include to justify a rate hike.
• Request JCAR to develop an Ethics Form to be used by the Senate to vet nominees to the MPSC.
• Develop a conflict-of-interest policy with real teeth.
• Develop new transparency laws for the political contributions the power companies make — they are regulated monopolies.

VII. Property Tax Elimination Transition & Local Government Reform

Policy Objective

Ralph Rebandt has publicly supported attempts to eliminate property taxes in Michigan — often referred to as AxMiTax. A more comprehensive approach is needed. Seriously limit the size and scope of government. The government must focus on its core responsibilities. Voters support ending property taxes, but are concerned about the speed.

Core Government Priorities

The government has no business owning and operating golf courses, parks, zoos, museums, cemeteries, splash pads, or pickleball courts. Core priorities must be:

1. Public Safety
2. Secure Elections
3. K-12 Education
4. Infrastructure
5. Care for veterans and first responders injured in the line of duty

Phased Implementation Plan

Step One — Prioritize Core Functions of Government. Actually prioritize the core functions of government listed above and eliminate functions that fall outside them. Separate needs from wants.

Step Two — Stop Unfunded Mandates. The state issued all new regulations in January 2025 for fire departments — new maintenance requirements, replacement-time schedules for all equipment, new training and promotion requirements, and specific equipment storage mandates. Fire chiefs have said these new demands will increase their budget by 75% to 100%. There are 19 state departments placing this type of burden on local governments constantly. City administrators have said they could use a full-time employee just to keep up with the demands. This must stop.

Step Three — Restore Authority to JCAR. Restore authority to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. This committee was created specifically to be a stop on a runaway executive branch — which is exactly what Michigan now has. The legislature gutted its own committee and turned its power over to the executive branch. That was a serious mistake.

Step Four — Amend the Urban Cooperation Act. The Urban Cooperation Act, first passed in 1967 and last amended in 2012, was created specifically to encourage local governments to combine services. Functions such as fire, zoning, parks, 911, sewer, and water can and have been combined. This approach saves taxpayer dollars and improves services for residents.

Step Five — State Partnership and Incentives. Local governments have a poor history of combining services — egos, history, and rivalries often get in the way of real progress. The state needs to become a partner in this initiative and help incentivize these efforts, utilizing organizations like the Michigan Township Association, Michigan Municipal League, and the Michigan State Cooperative Extension Service.

Step Six — Remove Property Tax Through Business Growth. Pair these reforms with sustained business-friendly policy so that economic growth replaces property tax revenue over time, allowing the elimination of the property tax without sacrificing essential services.

IX. Education Governance & Cell Phone Policy

Policy Objective

Ralph Rebandt strongly favors a local-control approach to this issue. Michigan school board members currently have the responsibility and authority to approve budgets, curriculum, and staffing issues within the district — they could also approve a cell phone policy. The Okemos school district just passed one. That is exactly how local control is supposed to work.

Policy Components

A statewide cell phone bill was a mistake. The right approach is to encourage local school districts to step up and solve their problem in a way that involves local voters. Setting up a study group of parents, teachers, school administrators, and a school board member is straightforward — they can hold open public meetings, gather input, and develop a policy for the entire school board to review. That is how a democratic republic works.

Ralph Rebandt supports a ban on cell phones during class time. This should never have been an issue if school teachers and administrators were actively involved in providing a comprehensive educational approach. State guidance and model policy templates will be made available to districts that want them.

XI. Drug Policy — Recreational Marijuana

Policy Objective

Ralph Rebandt strongly opposes recreational marijuana. Scientific studies show marijuana most often acts as a gateway drug leading to the use of more powerful, addictive drugs. Numerous scientific studies have concluded that marijuana has a harmful effect on brain development for teens and young adults.

Ralph Rebandt opposes the 24% wholesale tax on marijuana. The intention is to shrink the government via executive orders and to reduce regulations and taxes on all businesses. Government spending must be reined in.

XIII. Implementation Mechanics & Legislative Strategy

Drafting Priorities and Bill Packages

Prepare draft amendments to put before the Michigan House and Michigan Senate for the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act, FOIA expansion, MPSC appointment and term changes, NDA prohibition, voter verification statutes, and Urban Cooperation Act revisions. Each draft should include transitional provisions to preserve continuity of regulated services and election administration. Technical appendices should provide model statutory language, define effective dates, and propose conforming changes to related statutes.

Stakeholder Engagement

Convene working groups of local clerks, county administrators, municipal associations (Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association), utility regulators, consumer advocates, and technical experts to vet drafting details and identify operational bottlenecks. Allocate implementation funding for the Auditor General, JCAR, and county clerks to build technical capacity for audits, reviews, and compliance monitoring.

Communications and Public Framing

Frame the reforms as restoring accountability and local control, protecting taxpayers, and ensuring reliable services. Provide clear explanation of transitional protections for schools, public safety, and local services in the property tax transition package. Prepare white papers, one-page legislative briefs, and public Q&A documents tailored for committee members, media, and civic groups.

Enforcement, Oversight, and Evaluation

Empower the Auditor General and Attorney General with investigatory and enforcement tools to monitor compliance with FOIA, rulemaking requirements, NDA prohibitions, and utility transparency rules. Establish reporting metrics and periodic public reports on progress, including state audits at defined intervals during major transitions such as property tax elimination.