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We saw flashes of amiability and maybe even comity as Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for governor) took a turn in the hot seat this week before the GOP-led Michigan House Oversight Committee, where she testified about glitches and screwups in the system for elected officials to file financial disclosure statements.
There was nary a whiff of defensiveness as Benson faced what was expected to be a hostile and testy set of exchanges. She acknowledged frustration that the system rejected many lawmakers’ disclosure statements and was difficult for the public to navigate.
“There are sometimes bumps in the road and things don't go as smoothly as I would have liked,” she said, acknowledging the system launch was a tougher job than expected.
She said technology fixes are underway and even praised House Oversight Committee members as partners who called attention to problems and helped make the system better.
Benson stuck around and took questions - almost all from Republicans - for 90 minutes. She also said she looks forward to working cooperatively on future improvements to the system.
Contrast all that to happenings this week in a different venue - the Michigan Court of Claims - where this same Oversight Committee is suing Benson for access to election-related materials they’ve demanded via a legislative subpoena.
Benson, for her part, has not said “no” exactly, but that her office is sending things along once they’ve been vetted and some items redacted to protect sensitive election security measures from public view. Needless to say, Republicans aren’t buying it, thus the subpoena and lawsuit.
In a legal brief filed this week, Team Benson took aim not only at the subpoena itself, but the motives behind it.
In plain speaking, the brief says the Oversight Committee’s inquiry is excessively broad, does not serve a “legislative” purpose, and treats her as a criminal suspect and a political target.
Here’s a sampling:
“This case is not about power. It is about respect between coordinate branches of government. The Michigan Legislature possesses constitutional and statutory authority to investigate the Executive branch’s administration of the laws the Legislative branch enacts, and to compel the production of records in furtherance of such an investigation. But this power is not unlimited, checks and balances apply.”
“A committee cannot exercise its subpoena power in a subverted effort to try an officer for suspected violation of the law, and its investigative power cannot be wielded under the guise of punishing those investigated.”
“But the Committee’s purpose is suspect where the record suggests its underlying purpose is (to) try the Secretary for perceived violations of Michigan’s election laws, or to politically punish her – neither of which is permissible.”
Rick asked House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay), who had not yet seen the filing, for his response to the allegations in the brief.
“The politics, in my opinion, is that they are the ones pushing back, saying they shouldn’t be providing us with that information,” he said. “And I don’t mean to sound disrespectful or even arrogant, but our role as a Legislature and our requests for information from executive departments, or any other department for that matter, it’s not up to that department what we need. It’s up to us what we need.”
“We make that determination,” he said. “This isn’t a partnership.”
The Oversight Committee will get to file a response before Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel makes her ruling on the subpoena, which will almost certainly be appealed.
Get Caught Up:
- Election oversight fight headed to court: MI House GOP files lawsuit against SOS Jocelyn Benson
- State House Republicans continue to go after Jocelyn Benson with new resolution to hold the SOS in contempt
- GOP-led House committee targets Dem Jocelyn Benson over SOS election materials
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Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
What we’re talking about at the dinner table
Still waiting: Negotiations continued at the state Capitol this week as Tuesday’s deadline to get a state budget done comes barreling closer and closer but lawmakers failed to reach an agreement after a lengthy session on Thursday. School districts, higher ed institutions and many local governments, whose fiscal years begin July 1st, are anxiously waiting for the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate to come to a deal. “It appears the holdup is over whether to set money aside for specific items like free school meals - or cut those earmarks to give districts a higher base level of funding,” Michigan Public Radio Network’s Colin Jackson reports. Republican House Speaker Matt Hall says he thinks the chambers can come up with a school budget deal as well as a road funding solution before the deadline, but Democratic Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks told the Detroit News Thursday night that “there’s a lot of work to do to get to a point where there’s something to vote on.” The state Senate did just add additional session days next week and later in the summer after planning on being out of the chamber the first two weeks of July.
Move to the middle: Michigan freshman U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin took to a stage this week in Washington D.C. to deliver a message to fellow Democrats nationwide: go on offense. Delivering what she’s calling an “economic war plan,” the centrist Democrat who is becoming an increasingly vocal member of the ‘moderate middle’ says the party needs to “offer a different vision and demonstrate an affirmative, positive plan for the country.” As The Washington Post notes, “Slotkin’s speech may be a counter to Republicans’ economic policy, but it isn’t just a rebuttal of Trump. In fact, framing Democrats’ agenda as a rebuttal to Republicans instead of their own proactive vision is holding the party back, she said. She largely avoids naming Trump and wants Democrats to focus increasingly on building things rather than debating.” But her public push this week came within days of progressive state Representative Zohran Mamdani’s stunning success in the New York City mayoral race. Frequent It’s Just Politics guest and Lansing political consultant John Sellek posted this intriguing observation about the continued intraparty struggles.
Sweet smell of summer: Michigan’s tourism bureau, Travel Michigan, is trying to put summer in a bottle as part of its promotional efforts, Bridge Michigan reports. Perhaps the FRESH fragrance brand will join fudge as a classic take-home item to remember a Michigan summer. Politically-speaking, “the announcement comes as state officials again debate future funding for Pure Michigan, which promotes tourism as an arm of the quasi-governmental Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Michigan lawmakers last year approved $40 million in spending on the tourism campaign through September. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive budget proposes $26 million for Pure Michigan in the next fiscal year, while a separate Senate-approved plan proposes $21 million,” Bridge notes. We’re keeping fudge as our top souvenir and favored scent, but if FRESH flies, keep your eyes peeled and your nostrils open for HARVEST in the fall, FIRST SNOW in the winter and AWAKENING in the spring.
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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IJP ON THE ROAD
Rick was a guest this week on WKAR’s Off the Record where the panel discussed the latest on budget negotiations at the state Capitol.
