The group behind a ballot petition drive to change Michigan lobbying laws announced it was suspending the effort Friday, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause.

In a statement, The Coalition to Close Lansing Loopholes said they were postponing the campaign until the 2022 election cycle due to coronavirus outbreak that has resulted in hundreds of sick Michigan residents, three deaths so far and mass closures of schools and businesses intended to limit the spread.

All statutory requirements for collecting and submitting signature petitions currently remain in place, per the Michigan Bureau of Elections, although the department is evaluating the applicability of those rules in light of COVID-19.

If enacted, the Close Lansing Loopholes ballot initiative would have banned gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, mandated lawmakers take a two-year cooling-off period before becoming lobbyists, looped anybody spending more than $1,000 to influence legislation into the definition of a lobbyist, required communications attempting to influence public officials to contain a disclaimer about where they came from and required lobbyist-legislator interactions to be reported.

Another group still collecting signatures for a ballot petition this cycle, Fair and Equal Michigan, is taking a different approach, transitioning into a “canvass-by-mail" strategy, according to campaign co-chair Trevor Thomas.

The campaign to legally protect LGBT Michigan residents from discrimination surpassed 100,000 signatures on March 9th, and Fair and Equal Michigan is encouraging people to sign up and participate in a mail-in signature collection effort on the group’s website.

“This pandemic is a powerful reminder that we’re all in this together, no matter what we look like, where we live, or who we love,” the email stated. “Thanks for doing your part to stay safe and healthy while we continue our effort toward equality for all.”

Read all of MLive’s coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.