A package of bills that would provide more transparency in asset forfeiture cases in Michigan is being considered by the Legislature.

House Bills 5250, 5251, 5252 and 5081 would require law enforcement agencies to disclose the number of criminal asset forfeiture proceedings, the alleged violation of the law and whether a person was charged or convicted, the date the property was seized, a description and value of the property, and a few other details.

Michigan has had numerous problems with asset forfeiture in the past, with money and property being seized by police from innocent people. The state has taken at least $250 million since 2000 and receives a "D-" from the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm that represents people pro bono who have been harmed by such practices.

According to the group, "[L]aw enforcement receives all proceeds of civil forfeiture to enhance law enforcement efforts, creating an incentive to pursue forfeiture more vigorously than combating other criminal activity."

One of the supporters of the legislation, Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, said part of the reason for the bills is to help change these perverse incentives.

"It's just good transparency legislation," Rep. McMillin said. "It would show the ones who are using this tool correctly and the ones who aren't. That will be helpful."

The legislation passed the House Oversight Committee and could be taken up by the full House as soon as today. But opposition from law enforcement agencies could kill the proposed laws.

The Michigan State Police did not respond to a request for comment, but in testimony before a House Committee, Sgt. Amy Dehner, legislative liaison for the MSP, said the agency opposed the bills as written because some parts are "procedurally not possible." While generally supporting more transparency, she said it would require more employees to keep up with the new reports and she worried about privacy.

"Some of the reporting requirements, we feel, could either put an informant in jeopardy or a person who may not even have been charged yet has their assets published online and are now hanging out there and can be tracked back," Dehner said in her testimony. "And potentially could compromise a witness or an open investigation."

Lee McGrath, legislative counsel for the Institute for Justice criticized current forfeiture proceedings and disputed the fears.

"Forfeiture is the one of the biggest threats to property rights of the residents of Michigan," he said. "This bill is carefully crafted to give the governor and state legislators the information about what property law enforcement has seized and forfeited.

"The bills require reporting on only closed cases in which the investigations and court actions have ended," McGrath added. "Objections about compromising witnesses are pretext for some members of law enforcement not wanting legislators to know exactly what property is being seized and how law enforcement is spending forfeiture proceeds."

The Michigan Sheriffs' Association did not respond to a request for comment.

The Michigan Education Association is following through with its vow to threaten the credit of employees who don't voluntarily pay dues despite their desire to exercise their right under the law and leave the union. 

Bangor Public Schools kindergarten teacher Kimberle Byrd received a notice from a collection agency for unpaid dues in the amount of $394.20 with the Michigan Education Association listed as the creditor. Byrd said she thought she was out of the union when her union contract expired in 2013.

A new contract with a tentative agreement for teachers in the Van Buren County district was made on Sept. 9, 2013. Michigan's right-to-work law became effective March 28, 2013.

However, the MEA only allows its members to opt out during the month of August. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has set up a website, www.AugustOptOut.org to educate teachers about the August window.

Byrd said she was not aware of the August window. She said she thought that when her contract ended in August she was "free and clear" because of the state's right-to-work law.

According to the MEA, there are still 7,000 members who haven't signed up for automatic dues withdrawal, which became necessary for the union after a state law made it illegal for school districts to automatically deduct dues or fees from teacher paychecks.

In anticipation that it would have trouble collecting from everyone, the MEA created a policy about how to deal with teachers who don't voluntarily pay. It calls for the local association president to forward late dues to collection agencies after 90 days of nonpayment. 

The MEA's legal counsel, Art Przbylowicz and Michael Shoudy, did not return requests for comment.

Byrd has been a member of her union for 19 years. She estimated that she's paid as much as $17,000 in union dues over her teaching career.

Yet, Byrd says the union has not helped her in two of her concerns involving her benefits and then engaged in cyberbullying and intimidation once she decided she no longer wanted to be part of the union.

"They keep trying to beat you down and make you feel like you are so afraid and so alone," Byrd said. "Now, they are going to ruin my credit. The easiest thing to do is throw up your hands. I feel very alone. There is nobody I can talk to about it. I don't know if anybody else has been turned over to creditors."

Byrd said Randy Ward, the local union president, sent an email to all the teachers in the bargaining unit identifying Byrd and the handful of other members who hadn't paid dues. Byrd said one teacher felt compelled to explain she couldn't afford the dues, which bothered Byrd.

Bangor Public Schools Superintendent Ron Parker confirmed that the email was sent out.

Ward did not respond to a request for comment.

Byrd said the union also turned a deaf ear to her salary and insurance concerns.

She said she has two master's degrees and the salary pay scale didn't reflect the additional education. Many contracts reward education beyond a master's degree. Byrd said the union told her she was the only teacher in that situation and therefore the union wouldn't spend time on it.

Byrd said for more than a decade she's been paying the same rates on her insurance as employees with the family plan even though she is single. The union contract didn't differentiate between single and family plan rates. Many contracts in other districts offer different rates.

"They have never negotiated for me or to benefit me, but their negotiations have often hurt me," Byrd said.

The Mackinac Center is representing several teachers in a legal dispute over the MEA's limited window for resigning. The teachers say they also have been bullied by their union and want to resign their membership. Most have said they were told repeatedly about how to pay dues but never told how or when they could opt out.