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Michigan House approves bill requiring attorney general to report litigation spending over $250,000
Summary
The Michigan House passed House Bill 5650, 58–47, requiring the attorney general to report to designated legislative committees whenever litigation spending is expected to exceed $250,000; supporters called it accountability while opponents objected to personal attacks during debate.
The Michigan House voted 58–47 to approve House Bill 5650, a measure that would obligate the attorney general to report to specified legislative committees whenever the office expects to spend more than $250,000 on litigation and to provide an accounting and justification for the expenditures.
Representative Wolford, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure is designed to give the Legislature real-time oversight. “It simply requires the attorney general to report to the legislature whenever she, he, Democrat or Republican, expects to spend more than 250,000 of taxpayer money on a lawsuit,” Wolford said on the floor. He added the reporting would include “a full accounting of the spending, an explanation of the case, and justification for why Michigan taxpayers are footing the bill.”
Wolford also criticized the current attorney general’s approach to litigation, saying the office has used resources for politically motivated cases. “For years, the attorney general has treated this office like her own personal political slush fund,” he said. Representative Fitzgerald raised a point of order during the remarks and urged members to avoid personal attacks and to keep comments germane to the bill.
Wolford outlined enforcement provisions included in the bill, saying the measure provides “court enforcement, daily fines paid out of the department’s budget, and a review of the Auditor General” if reporting requirements are not met.
The bill passed on a record roll call. The clerk announced the tally as 58 yes and 47 no. The House then voted to give the bill immediate effect.
The bill requires reports to the Legislature when expected litigation spending exceeds $250,000 and prescribes enforcement mechanisms; the text adopted on the floor also requires disclosure of the case strategy and justification for the expenditure. The House advanced the measure with immediate effect; the transcript does not record a floor response from the attorney general’s office during the session.
Next steps: the enrolled bill will be presented as required under legislative procedures and, absent veto action, take effect under the timetable set by the House’s immediate-effect motion.
