LANSING, MI (AP)-- Groups collecting signatures for statewide ballot drives could only submit those collected within a firm 180-day window under legislation going to Governor Rick Snyder's desk.
The Republican-led House voted largely along party lines for the bill Wednesday. It previously cleared the GOP-controlled Senate.
The bill is a response to attempts by marijuana legalization and anti-fracking ballot committees to qualify older signatures by rebutting a presumption that they are void.
The Board of State Canvassers last week deadlocked on letting ballot drive organizers more easily prove that voter signatures collected outside 180 days should still count.
Democratic Rep. Jeff Irwin says the legislation weakens citizens' power.
But Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter says ballot groups have been trying to change the way things have been done for more than 30 years.
