(The Center Square) – The House Oversight Committee has authorized multiple subpoena requests for some of Michigan’s highest public officials.
The subpoenas were issued for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
This is the most extensive use of the legislature’s subpoena power in Michigan history.
“House leadership agreed to seek these subpoenas because we take our commitment to making our state government more transparent and accountable seriously,” said Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Township, who chairs the Oversight Committee. “We are tired of seeing government actors with no regard for the public face zero accountability. That is not how representative government ought to work, and it ought to stop. If it wasn’t clear before that we are not messing around, it should be now.”
The subpoenas were authorized for a variety of reasons, all related to allegations of government misconduct.
According to DeBoyer, Nessel’s case was “particularly concerning” as it deals with two cases of potential dark money schemes and criminal activity.
“Both cases appear to have been buried and never properly investigated,” said a press release from Michigan House Republicans.
Nessel has refused to investigate the allegations, despite Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sending a criminal referral to her office.
“There’s a lot we have yet to learn about Dana Nessel’s decisions, but that is exactly why we are seeking a subpoena on her office,” DeBoyer said. “This investigation will allow us to uncover the truth and learn about any potential misconduct. Regardless of what occurred, we need to be absolutely certain that our state’s highest-ranking law enforcement official is not helping her friends and family evade the law. If the Attorney General has nothing to hide, she should welcome transparency into her house.”
The subpoena of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel is related to ongoing concerns related to the foster care system, welfare fraud, juvenile justice and other issues under the department’s oversight.
“House Republicans have raised serious questions for months about troubling reports involving MDHHS — including children sleeping on floors, young people being placed in unvetted out-of-state facilities, instances of welfare and Medicaid fraud, and taxpayer-funded services being extended to individuals without legal status,” said Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen.
The subpoena comes as Republicans allege they have received minimal cooperation from Hertel and the department.
“Our goal has always been to work collaboratively behind the scenes to investigate these concerns, but unfortunately, we have not been able to secure the cooperation we had hoped for from the department,” Roth said. “When a state department is unwilling to engage with the people’s representatives on matters this serious, we are left with no choice but to take further steps to obtain the information the public deserves.”
The subpoena will also allow Hertel to be questioned on allegations of fraud and misuse in the state’s public assistance programs.
“What we’ve seen out of MDHHS in recent years is an unacceptable level of misconduct,” said Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell. “Director Hertel is going to have to answer some tough questions on her poor record heading up the state health department. Our out-of-control government’s wasteful spending has to stop, and cutting off the rampant fraud from MDHHS’s public assistance programs is a good place to start.”
Two subpoenas were issued for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, one related to the DNR’s efforts to kill Canada geese for population control and another for its actions against pig farmers and game ranches.
Before issuing the subpoena, Republicans had already sent in document requests, which the DNR said would take months to respond to.
“I feel for the people that have been forced to watch as the DNR uses their tax dollars to destroy the livelihoods of honest farmers and outdoorsmen,” said Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord. “The DNR is supposed to be operating in good faith as stewards of our natural resources. Instead, they’re trying to hike license fees, clear-cut forests, and harass the very people who fund their paychecks. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If they continue down this path, they won’t have a dollar left for anything.”
Republicans have long called the department “unchecked and overfunded,” as a legal case currently makes its way through the courts regarding the DNR’s enforcement of the Invasive Species Order with domesticated pigs.
Recent committee testimony revealed that the number of pig ranches in Michigan has gone from 75 to five since the ISO order went into effect in 2012.
“Both the Attorney General’s Office and the DNR have a clear history of weaponization and political targeting,” said Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, who chairs the House Oversight Weaponization of State Government Subcommittee. “We need to put an end to this right now before this joint monstrosity targets and ruins the lives of any additional Michigan citizens.”
