Michigan Senate may not release results of probe of comments

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Senate may not release the findings of a sexual harassment probe of a male lawmaker who told a young reporter that high school boys visiting the Capitol could have “fun” with her, a spokeswoman for the state Senate's majority leader said Thursday.

The Legislature is not subject to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. It does release broad financial records related to harassment investigations, but not much else.

Republican state Sen. Pete Lucido, 59, of Macomb County's Shelby Township, issued a brief apology for what he called a “misunderstanding” Wednesday after a Michigan Advance journalist published a report detailing their interaction outside the state Senate chamber on Tuesday. Allison Donahue, 22, sought to interview him. He said he could talk after honoring roughly 30 students from De La Salle Collegiate, an all-boys Catholic high school in suburban Detroit from which Lucido graduated.

“You should hang around! You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you,” he reportedly said.

The story prompted legislative leaders to ask the nonpartisan Senate Business Office to open a sexual harassment investigation.

“There's not a precedent in the Senate for releasing personnel files,” Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, said when asked if the findings would be made public. “The majority leader will allow the investigation to take place before he prescribes and advances any consequences or makes a determination about releasing any information.”

State Senate rules prohibit the sexual harassment of senators and employees, but they may not explicitly apply to the Lucido incident. However, the rules also require senators to conduct themselves “to justify the confidence placed in him...