Committee vote · prevailed · 15–0–2

Recorded committee decision

that the House Oversight Committee authorize the Chair of the committee to execute a subpoena for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 1. The information being sought is necessary to the work of the Committee because: The Legislature has a right to know information about the programs being implemented by the State of Michigan or one of its departments. Any documents regarding the DNR’s investigations, enforcement actions, and prosecutions undertaken pursuant to the authority of the 2010 Invasive Species Order concerning so-called “feral swine” would be relevant to the Legislature’s evaluation of potential amendments to the state of Michigan’s hunting laws and public health laws. Furthermore, the financial records regarding the DNR’s expenditures to implement the 2010 Invasive Species Order and the funding sources for those actions would be relevant to the Legislature’s consideration of the annual budget of the DNR. 2. Previous efforts made to obtain the information being sought, without the issuance of a subpoena, are as follows: On June 13, 2025, my office sent a letter, co-signed by two of my Democrat member colleagues, to the DNR. That letter asked the DNR to voluntarily disclose the documents that are at issue in this motion. On June 25, 2025, the Oversight Subcommittee on the Weaponization of State Government met jointly with the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources and the Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism. At that meeting, the committees took testimony about the DNR’s policies and activities relative to “feral swine” issue. Later in the afternoon of June 25, 2025, the DNR responded to my office that it would take 150 days – yes that’s right, 5 months – for the department to produce the requested documents. It appears that the DNR is attempting to run out the clock on this legislative session in an effort to evade legislative oversight. 3. The party to be subpoenaed is the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 4. A general description of the documents or other things to be produced can be found on the last page of the subpoena document, which is before each member of the committee. 5. At this time, only a subpoena for the production of records is sought.

Meeting date

Not recorded

Result

prevailed

Yeas

15

Nays

0

Validation

consistent

Related meeting

meeting-187

A committee motion is a proceeding-level decision. A named choice supports that individual vote only and does not establish continuous attendance.