[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6598927,"mediaKeyId","3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f","parentId",3021639,"title","Attorney General Dana Nessel briefs House Judiciary Committee on department priorities, litigation and victim services","audioSeconds",1618,"startMs",1308000,"endMs",2926000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f&start=1308&end=2926","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f/thumbnail_1308000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6598927/Michigan/Attorney-General-Dana-Nessel-briefs-House-Judiciary-Committee-on-department-priorities-litigation-and-victim-services","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598927-9cc0551082667d6af559434f94d517e3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007534&Signature=in0Jc~g9Zs~KjjCKfjpqTx95Fybw9xq8pKw5neU2~mqr2S2VstUfyIIcq6hZPd1inFOCa~H5nPsbpZzwABnDSMRJUFJLPDFx~XOgr1IxL66shQyCG5~nH3zLzDVXYRz3E5~fh99NOLwwO0fr47f8vErDUnVAGwHVIXPjUycWSrvfjFpZafK8eu54mekn3rVj5j3NEWVXjkRJnqKf-vSeckAlsEejuRxGeVam6uStnvpTmPo8Ag8u~gqD26Ih4UTz4Ps5uwEnI1xedXL2mGEN6pkjgHZQEAltSK0QfWbHzQTRqeFnE2JBoZsGGry1TdIQIwQG8KULxPCuuVW~WODKJw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan Legislature","date","2025-04-16T15:53:18.017Z","article","Attorney General Dana Nessel told the Michigan House Judiciary Committee that the Department of Attorney General represents the state and its people, outlined the office’s major programs and litigation results, and identified legislative priorities for the session.

Nessel said the department handles a large caseload, produces significant recoveries for the state, and provides services including consumer protection, criminal prosecutions, elder-abuse investigations and specialized units such as a retail-theft task force and a new parole-appeals unit. She also described ongoing work on opioid settlements, human trafficking, guardianship reform and consumer‑protection litigation.

Nessel opened by describing the office’s role: “I am the lawyer for the state of Michigan, for the governor, but also for the people,” and stated the office’s annual caseload and financial impact. She said the department handles roughly 48,000 cases a year (not including investigations, expungement requests or trainings), operates on a small portion of the state general fund, and that “for every dollar the state pays for our department, we bring $4 back to the state and to the state residents.”

Nessel gave specific recent results: she said the office recovered over $505 million in awards payable to the state and residents in 2024 and that the department’s average annual recoveries exceed $435 million. On opioid litigation she said the state has passed 11 settlements to date, with total awards in the low billions and $282 million already paid into the Michigan Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund; local governments have received more than $176 million from those settlements.

She described the department’s consumer-protection work and enforcement divisions, saying the office fields roughly 20,000–24,000 consumer complaints per year and recovered more than $16 million in direct consumer and state recoveries last year. Nessel urged stronger consumer-protection statutes, characterizing Michigan as an outlier among states with more limited civil remedies.

Nessel summarized several criminal‑justice and victim‑services units: the Criminal Justice Bureau and a specialized “Saki” unit for sexual‑assault kit testing and prosecutions; Operation Survivor Justice for extradition and prosecution of defendants who fled the state; an Address Confidentiality program (about 315 current participants) for victims of violence; a Sentinel Project that conducts unannounced inspections of long‑term‑care facilities; an organized retail‑crime unit that she said has charged more than 85 defendants and recovered millions in merchandise and cash; and a parole‑appeals unit created to assist victims and prosecutors in challenging early parole decisions.

On the Sentinel Project, she described surprise visits to nursing homes to check for care problems and said the program has led to criminal referrals and other enforcement actions. On parole appeals, she said the office is alerted mainly by victims who receive parole notices and that the department must often assemble decades‑old case files quickly to seek circuit‑court review of a parole decision.

Nessel listed legislative priorities she planned to bring to the committee, including human‑trafficking legislation, guardianship and conservatorship reform, and changes to consumer‑protection law. She also discussed an office initiative to track Social Security problems and began collecting reports after recent federal field‑office reductions.

Committee members asked questions after the presentation on topics including parole‑appeal staffing and timelines, guardianship enforcement, the Sentinel Project, job‑court outcomes, and the status of a Michigan Supreme Court case (Eli Lilly) that bears on consumer‑protection authority. Nessel said the Eli Lilly matter required supplemental briefing and reargument and that the department supports legislative fixes in addition to litigation.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; members followed with questions and a request for follow-up materials.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Judiciary - 4/16/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Attorney General Dana Nessel told the Michigan House Judiciary Committee that the Department of Attorney General represents the state and its people, outlined the office’s major programs and litigation results, and identified legislative priorities for the session.","taxTitle","2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",77683,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6598919,"Committee reports a series of bills to the House floor; roll calls recorded",926,352000,1278000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f&start=352&end=1278","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f/thumbnail_352000.jpg","/articles/6598919/Michigan/Committee-reports-a-series-of-bills-to-the-House-floor-roll-calls-recorded","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598919-74435519f7fc8f6f3840977440c4aa7d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007534&Signature=I8lCRaoOxWj3~d3uq2oNzsVQKS2GMrqSzh1hO4BuepRLcGzBOR4pkLQsKHSBRp9Nv~1Nn59oNy9bjsZEzHerWxv3v4BqtMnIei6pIFc5wH9S~OZW1iDhK-TK03K6Qbv02NHQLlxUibKu5pb5ociAnNyKvi9eJHFLA~uFTTGl~AHIAi86Wx8OXp-iW2HlSR18IAKondJl3NbdoLiwXAJ45JuTBUGMYRbLW-Ld~ihwixDF5RDi1tWfQx9k3DenHQRj~0uIG0dBrHJZrK1bRshFPqNpoOt8uTPMNaNqk5kzVk6i0tmjze2dDgpIysPQ84k8cwknYWlyLUJ5iEzGVIdRxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Judiciary Committee took roll‑call actions on multiple bills and reported each to the full House with recommendations. Most items were handled by motion and roll call with limited floor debate in committee.

Early in the meeting the committee moved to report House Bill 4033 with recommendation (roll‑call recorded). The committee adopted a substitute for House Bill 4034 and then reported HB 4034 to the full House with recommendation as the substitute.

The committee considered two fentanyl bills, House Bill 4255 and House Bill 4256. Multiple organizations sent testimony cards; several groups and individuals indicated opposition but did not speak. The clerk recorded House Bill 4255 as reported with recommendation (8 yeas, 0 nays, 3 pass) and House Bill 4256 likewise recorded as reported with recommendation (8 yeas, 0 nays, 3 pass).

The committee adopted the substitute to House Bill 4047 and reported it as substitute H‑2 with a roll call recorded as 11 yeas, 0 nays, 0 pass. The committee reported House Bill 4048 with recommendation (roll call recorded as 11 yeas, 0 nays, 0 pass). The clerk recorded other bill reports similarly; the session transcript contains the roll‑call text for each item and the committee’s disposition of each motion.

These motions were procedural: the committee reported bills to the House floor for further consideration. Where the transcript shows a roll call, the clerk’s tally is recorded here as transcribed; for the official, final tallies consult committee minutes and the House clerk’s record.

","The House Judiciary Committee reported several bills to the full House with recommendations during the session, including fentanyl‑related measures and a set of public‑safety and administrative bills; most were reported unanimously or with recorded 'pass' votes on some members' responses.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6598924,"Committee adopts two amendments to proposed anti‑SLAPP bill and reports it to the House floor",430,675000,1105000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f&start=675&end=1105","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021639-6c98d2e4ff5a05b13bbd7d9ecb48582f/thumbnail_675000.jpg","/articles/6598924/Michigan/Committee-adopts-two-amendments-to-proposed-antiSLAPP-bill-and-reports-it-to-the-House-floor","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598924-90ee37c5c52a3136887ac711d894d41a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007534&Signature=UWH6dXBz7jpCnIVfruZZVEx3y00J9EsMCbPrVNMZ4c2skU8DkF002cuOJqw5SxpLT0VHmYC1FgjN23-pxEAydlgVzVxsaJpQjnMQocEfK9LIpwTEODstikk4r9owTzvUAbwtlklxGLhPhqcFMUkit-MJfE41TOjvHnHXZsnp4j5rius1niZxnvQYOCbCN-u1jtBWXP72bsDnKaXH~6cyswNWvZpeC5zvwLy6QC9mjsUMGiISn1Kj1fzyWAl40mnug3WRpmnOob-JIuYVPV-lmEF3W5Hor0ikHkrhprdkI7S7WuGObZ4wun4a9mRzKe7RMTJBBKkAGrjQCk4Z1z2~Jg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Judiciary Committee adopted two amendments to House Bill 4045 that, as moved by committee members, remove language creating certain exceptions for government‑filed suits from the bill’s expedited dismissal provisions. After floor debate and brief public testimony, the committee reported the bill to the full House with recommendation as an amended substitute.

Rep. DeBoer offered the first amendment, saying it would “strike language on page 3 of the bill starting on line 14” and would “place the government on the same footing as every other party in these types of litigation matters.” DeBoer argued that if the government sues individuals over matters of public concern, those individuals should have the same access to an expedited dismissal process as other defendants.

Rep. Hope opposed taking out the exemptions and said she would pass on the amendment. “The 2 items that would be cut from this bill actually give individuals protection against anti‑SLAPP motions… I want to protect First Amendment rights of individuals, and I think the exemptions are necessary to do that,” she said.

The committee voted on the DeBoer amendment; the clerk recorded the vote as seven ayes, zero nays and four pass (the amendment was adopted). Rep. Johnson then offered a second amendment to remove language allowing trial courts to hear unrelated motions or government motions seeking preliminary relief that would otherwise be stayed; Johnson said an automatic stay should not contain exceptions for government lawsuits. The second amendment passed by the same roll‑call pattern (seven ayes, zero nays, four pass as recorded), and both changes were incorporated into a new substitute.

The committee heard brief public testimony in support of the bill. Nicole Kiwe Biber of Clean Water Action said the amendments are important to “protect citizens from the chilling effect of retributive and abusive strategic lawsuits against public participation,” and outlined concerns that volunteers and community members can be overwhelmed by litigation when they speak up about pollution or public‑health threats.

With the amendments adopted, the committee reported House Bill 4045 to the full House as an amended substitute. The clerk recorded the final roll call for the report as 11 ayes, 0 nays and 0 pass and the bill was recorded “with recommendation as amended as a new sub.”

The committee’s actions were limited to amendments and reporting the bill to the floor; no final House vote occurred in committee. The transcript shows multiple members debated the scope of the bill and whether government‑filed suits should be excluded from the expedited‑dismissal process.

","The House Judiciary Committee adopted two amendments to House Bill 4045 that remove exemptions for government‑filed lawsuits from parts of the bill’s expedited‑dismissal process, heard brief public testimony in support, and reported the bill to the full House as a new substitute.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Attorney General Dana Nessel briefs House Judiciary Committee on department priorities, litigation and victim services

Committee reports a series of bills to the House floor; roll calls recorded

Committee adopts two amendments to proposed anti‑SLAPP bill and reports it to the House floor