Oh my.

"The Gretch", Michigan's Pseudo-Governor Elect, has done it again, but this time, she has appointed a tag team of child welfare ragamuffins who are probably, romatically popping champagne bottles to celebrate the pilfering of Medicaid in child welfare when it comes to those private child placing agency contract that I like to refer to as the industry of trafficking tiny humans.

Yes, that is correct.

The incompetent Orlene Hawks, former Children's Ombudsman that Snyder 'politley' asked her to step down, is back and she brought her hubby, who just so happens to get some of those privatized child welfare contracts.

I bet she was nominated to be appointed to Michigan's Licensing and Regulatory Authority take the wrap of what is going on with the Detroit Land Bank Authority, too.

https://beverlytran.blogspot.com/search?q=orlene+hawks

A match made in heaven.

I guess this is "The Gretch's" way of getting back at the former administration!

FUN FACT! LARA SUCKS & I KNOW WHY & I SNITCHED. JUST ASK BILL SCHUETTE

Smooches!

Welcome aboard, kiddos, I look forward to your formal testimonies, or indictments, which ever comes first.

Ask "The Gretch", she will explain it because I am quite sure this is going right over your pretty little heads.

Whitmer choice raises questions about state's conflicts of interest laws

"These kids have no clue what they are in for" said
former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

LANSING — The official who Gov. Gretchen Whitmer named to head one of the largest and most far-reaching state government departments is married to an owner of one of Lansing's biggest lobbying firms — raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to industries such as marijuana, where both spouses have responsibilities or client interests.

Whitmer, a Democrat who took office Jan. 1, named Orlene Hawks director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) — a $518-million agency with responsibilities ranging from oversight of Michigan's lucrative new marijuana industry to liquor licensing, regulation of utilities, and licensing of doctors, hospitals and physical therapy providers.

Hawks, of Okemos, is married to Michael Hawks, an owner and principal of Government Consultant Services, Inc. (GCSI). The firm's clients include marijuana interests such as the Michigan Cannabis Development Association, CannArbor Inc., MedFarm of Michigan LLC, and PSI Labs, state records show.

GCSI also represents many other clients affected by the policies and rulings of LARA and its sub-agencies, such as the Liquor Control Commission, which handles liquor licensing, and the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. While state records don't show which GCSI accounts are specifically handled by Michael Hawks, those clients include the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, Consumers Energy Co., the Michigan Physical Therapy Association, and Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Michigan, to name a few.

It's not the first time in recent years that similar concerns have been raised. Marriages with lobbyists involving a former governor's chief of staff and a former state senator have also been questioned.

While not questioning the integrity of Hawks or her husband, a state government ethics expert said the potential conflicts raised by the situation underline a need for stronger financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest laws in Michigan. A state senator who has the power to hold hearings on Orlene Hawks' appointment said it raises questions about how she will handle conflicts with her husband's firm, if they arise.

"On its face, it is concerning," said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network and an expert on ethics and disclosure rules for state officials.

"LARA is a very important department that has its hands in a lot of different industries," and "lobbyists work with all types of industries to try to advance their interests," Mauger said.

"If you were someone who wants something from LARA, do you think you would be more likely to go to the lobbying firm that is connected to the director of LARA?"

More: Whitmer to talk Michigan issues at Free Press 'Breakfast Club' event

More: Whitmer bans use of private email accounts for state business

Sen. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, chairman of the Senate Advice and Consent Committee,which can hold confirmation hearings on Whitmer's cabinet selections but is not required to do so,said Monday that areas of potential conflict and how they would be handled would be examined if his committee convenes a hearing on Hawk's confirmation.

"These are things that you've got to look at," Lucido said.

"If there's an appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest, then I think she has a duty to make it known."

Lucido said one of the issues he wants to explore is "how does a potential conflict get resolved in an administrative agency" such as LARA.

Orlene Hawks, who will be paid $165,000 a year in her new role, formerly served as director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, which deals with the state's child welfare system, and before that worked for the state health department. She holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

“Throughout my entire career in state government, I have served the people of Michigan with the utmost honesty and integrity, and will continue to do so as LARA director,” Hawks said in a statement emailed to the Free Press by an aide on Monday.

Hawks did not respond in detail to an emailed question about how specifically she would respond to a conflict with her husband's firm, but said: “I will rely on all civil service rules and protocols to ensure that the laws under my department’s oversight are administered fairly, efficiently, consistently and transparently.”

Michael Hawks has been voted among the top two lobbyists in the state by Capitol insiders, according to his biography on the website of Eastern Michigan University. Snyder appointed Hawks to the EMU board in 2011. Before joining GCSI around 1990, Hawks worked for Democratic leaders in the state House. Hawks, who did not return a phone message Monday, holds a bachelor's degree from EMU and a master's degree from MSU.

Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said the governor is confidentOrlene Hawks and the other cabinet members she selected "will be ethically conscious, serve with integrity and are committed to putting Michigan residents first."

Brown said Whitmer's expectations of her cabinet are clear, pointing to an executive directive Whitmer signed Thursday that points to state law governing conflicts of interest, none of which would prohibit the LARA director from being married to a lobbyist with interests before LARA, and adds other directives, such as that officials "not engage in outside employment or activities conflicting with their official government duties."

Whitmer "has set a high bar and has full faith in her cabinet," Brown said.

Mauger said Michigan is one of only two states that doesn't require some form of personal financial disclosure for top state officials, and the situation with the Hawks demonstrates the need for laws requiring such disclosure.

"This one is kind of obvious, but there could be many more of these situations that we don't know about," he said.

Lucido noted that potential conflicts involving top state officials and lobbyists are not new in Lansing, citing the example of Dennis Muchmore, who was chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder while his spouse, Deb Muchmore, worked as a Lansing lobbyist. She had served as a spokeswoman for Nestle, the company that obtained a controversial state permit to increase its pumping of Michigan groundwater, obtained at a nominal fee, after Dennis Muchmore left Snyder's employ.

State Sen. Joe Hune, R-Fowlerville, who left the Senate at the end of 2018 because of term limits, is married to Lansing lobbyist Marcia Hune. That relationship became an issue in a federal lawsuit involving electric car manufacturer Tesla, because Joe Hune introduced legislative language that Tesla alleges banned the insurgent company's sales model in Michigan, while the firm Marcia Hune worked for counted the established Michigan auto dealers among its clients.

Chuck Perricone, a former Republican House speaker who has worked as a lobbyist in the cannabis industry since 2011, said it's valuable to raise questions and concerns about such relationships because the approval process for various types of marijuana licensing "is just so subjective."

"I appreciate the scrutiny," Perricone said. However, "in my personal experience over the years and in this space, Mike Hawks is a straight shooter and I have no reason to believe that the new director won't operate the same way."

Let us not forget Peter "Asset Forfeiture" Lucindo and his lustful political career.

https://beverlytran.blogspot.com/search?q=peter+lucindo

Committee hearing uncertain for LARA appointee with potential conflict of interest

Lansing — The Republican senator responsible for reviewing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appointments is unsure whether he’ll hold a hearing regarding a potential conflict of interest for the state's new licensing director.

A conflict of interest, when it arises, should be handled according to department policy and procedure, said Sen. Peter Lucido, not necessarily in a committee hearing to confirm the appointee.

“I don’t think it’s an appointment that needs to be questioned just yet,” said Lucido, the Shelby Township Republican who chairs the Senate’s Advice and Consent Committee.

Lucido’s comments come as Whitmer voiced support Tuesday for her cabinet members, including Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs appointee Orlene Hawks, whose husband, Michael Hawks, is a Lansing lobbyist.

Michael Hawks’ company, Governmental Consultant Services Inc., assists clients in several areas overseen by his wife’s department, including licensing approval, liquor control and regulatory items, according to the GCSI website.

He was named the second most effective multi-client lobbyist in the state by a 2017 MIRS/EPIC-MRA Insider Survey.

Licensing and Regulatory Affairs houses more than a dozen bureaus including the Michigan Occupational and Safety Health Administration (MiOSHA); the Michigan Public Service Commission; Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing; the Liquor Control Commission; Community and Health Systems; Professional Licensing; and Marijuana Regulation.

The former director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, Orlene Hawks said she is not a shareholder of GCSI and would comply with civil service rules and protocols to ensure the department’s laws were “administered fairly, efficiently, consistently and transparently.”

Michael Hawks did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.

Orlene Hawks will comply with all LARA rules, which enforce civil service rules, agency spokesman Jason Moon said. That includes rules that require LARA employees to submit forms within 14 days of hire that disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Department rules also specifically prohibit employees from exercising "any decision-making authority of the state regarding any regulation, enforcement, auditing, licensing, or purchasing with respect to any business or entity in which the employee or a member of the employee’s immediate family has any financial interest or management authority."

Whitmer has confidence that her cabinet members “will be ethically conscious, serve with integrity and are committed to putting Michigan residents first," according to a statement from her spokeswoman Tiffany Brown

“The governor's expectations for her administration and state employees are clear, as witnessed by the executive directive she signed just days after taking office, focused on assuring a good, ethical state government,” Brown said.

Advice and Consent Committee meetings, when needed for an appointee, would instead focus on experience, background and what makes the appointees “uniquely qualified to do the work for the people,” Lucido said.

All evidence so far indicates Orlene Hawks matches that description, he said.

"She has an impeccable background for public service," Lucido said

The Hawks dilemma is not the first in state government, nor will it be the last, he said. Lucido noted that another lobbyist, Deb Muchmore, helped Nestle during its fight to gain water withdrawal permits from state government after her husband, Dennis Muchmore, served as Snyder’s chief of staff.

Likewise, last week, former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley registered as a lobbyist with the Small Business Association of Michigan, where he will be able to lobby his own wife, Rep. Julie Calley of Portland.

Cyber High