Retail giant Meijer Inc. has been fined more than $190,000 for campaign law violations in its effort to build a superstore in Grand Traverse County's Acme Township.
Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land announced the fine Tuesday. She described it as the maximum civil penalty that could be imposed in the case and the largest fine ever levied by her department for violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.
Land said an investigation found Meijer made a series of unreported expenditures in campaigns to defeat an Acme Township superstore moratorium in 2005 and to recall the township board in 2007.
"Our campaign finance laws are about openness and disclosure and in this case Meijer tried to avoid both," Land said.
A message was left seeking comment from a Meijer spokeswoman. Meijer is a retail chain based in Grand Rapids with more than 180 stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Meijer was assessed a series of fines and penalties under two agreements reached with the secretary of state's office.
The first dealt with the company's expenditure of more than $46,000 in the township's August 2005 referendum that overturned a local moratorium on construction of big-box stores.
Corporations may legally spend money in elections to support or oppose a ballot question. But Meijer failed to register as a ballot question committee and did not report its spending, Land said.
For that violation, the company was fined the amount it spent, plus penalties and fees, for a total of $55,263.69.
The second agreement dealt with the 2007 campaign to recall seven elected Acme officials who objected to Meijer's development plans in the township. All seven survived the recall vote, although two have since resigned, citing stress from the Meijer battle.
Meijer spent more than $55,000 in the recall campaign, including payments to a legal firm and a public relations company, Land said. The expenditures would have been legal if made by Meijer's political action committee, but instead they were made directly by the company.
Corporations are prohibited from contributing to political committees other than those dealing with ballot questions, Land said.
For those violations, the company was assessed fines and penalties totaling $134,875.12.
"The overall goal of the Campaign Finance Act is to ensure compliance and disclosure, which we achieve with these settlements in addition to a record fine. Our democracy encourages everyone to participate in the election process but we all must follow the rules," Land said in a statement.
Acme Township is located in the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula near Traverse City.