House subcommittee presses MEDC, MEDF on funding and transparency of governor-led investment missions

LANSING — The House Oversight Subcommittee on Corporate Subsidies and State Investments examined how Michigan’s governor-led investment missions are funded and how much the public can see about donors and trip costs during a session on Sept. 12, 2025.

Michigan Economic Development Corporation officials told the committee the trips are intended to keep and grow Michigan business and jobs by strengthening relationships with foreign investors and trading partners. “These governor led investment missions are not paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Michelle Grenell, chief communications and attractions officer for the MEDC, told the panel. Kristen Armstrong, chief operating officer and performance officer at the MEDC, described how MEDC corporate funds — principally gaming-compact revenue the MEDC receives under tribal compacts — support corporate operations and international travel.

The committee focused on two transparency lines of inquiry: the mix of funding sources that pay for missions and the Foundation’s role. Committee members pressed for clearer, more accessible disclosure of total trip costs, donor lists and which entity paid specific expenses.

Why it matters: Members said constituents are asking for clarity about public and private dollars used to support overseas trips by the governor and MEDC staff. Several members argued that even though funds are not labeled as taxes, gaming-compact revenue is public money derived from economic activity in the state and therefore deserving of public accounting.

Testimony and financial detail

Michelle Grenell and Kristen Armstrong described the missions as relationship-driven…