Letter from Matt Hall, Speaker of the House

(Click here to see the original version of Matt Hall’s letter.)

Government should respect your time, your work, and your tax dollars. When it doesn’t, it is our responsibility to step in, fix what is broken, and restore accountability on behalf of the people we serve.

Over the last year, we identified and eliminated nearly $1 billion in fraud, waste, and abuse from the state government. Those savings came from rooting out slush funds, eliminating duplicative programs, exposing the ghost employee scam, and stopping spending that was not producing results for taxpayers.

We did not stop there. House Republicans went further and cut an additional $645 million in wasteful spending that the governor wanted to roll over to next year without oversight. That is money that stays in taxpayers’ pockets instead of being tied up in hidden programs that lack transparency or accountability.

Efficiency means making sure the state government is actually functioning. After years of remote work policies that went unchecked, we eliminated more than 2,000 ghost employee positions and began bringing state employees back to the office so services are delivered effectively and responsibly.

We are also enforcing HEAT (Hall Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency) law so taxpayers can see clearly how their money is being spent. While there have been efforts to delay or avoid these transparency requirements, House Republicans are standing firm and taking action to make sure the law is followed as intended.

That is why House Republicans have taken legal action against 31 of the governor’s state departments and department heads. Our lawsuit is based on one simple principle: the law must be followed. Dana Nessel’s wrong interpretation of the law would allow billions of dollars to be shifted into government accounts with little legislative oversight, directly undermining the reforms House Republicans passed to stop waste, fraud, and abuse. The Legislature has clear constitutional authority over state spending, and we will defend that authority in court to ensure the law is followed as written and taxpayer dollars are protected. We took the Lansing insiders to court because Michigan taxpayers need someone to fight for them and stop this absurd and incorrect interpretation of Michigan law.

This is what responsible governance looks like. We are making state government work better for the people who pay the bills!