State Rep. John Roth today led the Legislature in passing his bill which prohibits the state of Michigan from providing excessive severance payments and stops the state from preventing disclosure of certain employment-related information. 

“The people of Michigan deserve to know how public employees are compensated and how exactly taxpayer money is being spent,” said Roth (R-Interlochen). “Public funds need to be used responsibly, and limiting exorbitant severance agreements helps ensure that our taxpayer dollars are being spent on social services rather than costly employment contracts. We have to reinforce a basic principle: public dollars should be spent in the public interest.” 

House Bill 6009, introduced by Roth, limits severance pay and increases transparency in employment contracts for certain state employees and officers. Non-civil service state employees could receive no more than 12 weeks of severance pay, while state officers could not receive severance pay at all, unless a larger payment is approved to reduce legal costs and settle potential claims.  

Under the bill, contracts with six or more weeks of severance pay must be posted publicly online, and some severance agreements for state officers must be reported to the Legislature. The bill also prevents contracts from blocking disclosure of workplace legal violations or the contract itself. 

Roth continued by highlighting his appreciation of the bipartisan support for the effort. 

“Greater transparency and the responsible use of state funds should not be partisan issues,” Roth said. “I greatly appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to support this reform. Public trust in our institutions can only grow when we have real guardrails in place to make sure that we are spending money in service of the taxpayer. Today, we delivered.” 

The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.