Benson says campaign funds can be used for child care and caregiving costs

BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Elected officials and candidates for office are permitted to use money from their campaign finances to pay for caregiving costs including child care under an interpretive statement Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued Monday.

More than 30 states currently permit the usage of campaign dollars towards child care costs and proponents for allowing that usage argue that moms in particular are in need of such reimbursements

Women are expected to be primary caretakers and the challenges and lack of infrastructure in government for a person to be a primary parent has kept women out of office, Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of Vote Mama, a political organization working to increase the number of moms in office, told States Newsroom earlier this year.

Though more than 80% of women will become moms by age 44, according to the Pew Research Center, less than 8% of state lawmakers are moms of children under the age of 18, according to Vote Mama’s research branch.

“Running for office presents unique challenges when you’re a parent of a small child and while I loved bringing my son with me to campaign events last year, it also takes a toll,” Benson said in testimony submitted to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2023 in support of allowing campaign finances to be used for child care costs.

As legislation was being considered last year to implement the specification in Michigan’s campaign finance laws, Benson stated that she believed that Michigan law implies that child care costs are a permissible expenditure and specifying it would be a gamechanger for parents to run for office.

At the request of a handful of moms of minor children currently serving in the Michigan Legislature, Benson issued an interpretive statement allowing campaign finances to be used for child care costs, but also for direct caregiving responsibilities for candidates and office holders who care for elderly or disabled loved ones. As with other expenditures allowed under the state’s campaign finance laws, the costs associated with caregiving have to be directly related to campaign or officeholding activities, incurred to fulfill those purposes.

The interpretative statement further clarifies that caregiving expenses must be directly incurred as the result of campaign or officeholding activities. For example, if a person had already been paying for two days of child care a week, but needed four days of care in order to campaign or serve, the previous two days of care are not eligible for reimbursement from campaign funds.

The statement does not codify the caregiving expenses clarification into Michigan law, but outlines that Benson, as head of the Michigan Department of State, finds such expenses as permissible expenditures under state law.

Between commuting to the state Capitol building and going out into the community to talk with the people she represents, State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) told Michigan Advance earlier this year there’s a lot of “mom guilt” in trying to be there for your kids and still be able to accomplish your goals.

“As the mother of two young daughters and the first Michigan Senator to give birth while serving in the Senate, I am very familiar with the challenges that come with running for office while caring for young children,” Chang said in a news release Tuesday. “Secretary Benson’s ruling will help open up doors for more parents to run for office, those who might have previously dismissed the idea of running for office because of the challenges and cost of childcare.”

Chang and other “mommy legislators” from across the political aisle spoke with Michigan Advance ahead of Mother’s Day this year about the challenges of being a mom and a lawmaker and the value of having moms at the law making table on issues like child care, education, health care and civil rights.

Michigan is on the high end of representation for state lawmakers who are moms of children under the age of 18, Vote Mama’s research branch found this year, with 20 moms currently serving in the legislature.

In the 100 years since the first woman was elected to the Legislature, there have been 27 women legislators who served while being mothers of school-aged children, according to Michigan Capitol Commission records. When it comes to men, the Advance found in May that at least 27 men currently serving in Michigan’s Legislature are fathers of school-aged children.

There are different expectations for mothers versus fathers, State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) told Michigan Advance ahead of Mother’s Day, saying women are questioned and expected to do things that aren’t expected of men who are also parents.

“When I first ran for office, kicking off my campaign just a month after my husband and I got married, I was questioned about my family plans and told in no uncertain terms by at least one voter that a young mother couldn’t be a dedicated legislator,” McMorrow said in a news release Tuesday. “This ruling removes a barrier to bring us one step closer to a truly representative democracy – ensuring that parents of young children – especially mothers – can be fully present and dedicated to their voters and constituents without having to choose between their families and public service.”

READ MORE: Bills to help Michigan moms with child care—so they can run for office

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.