that the House Oversight Committee authorize the Chair of the committee to execute a subpoena to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In accordance with the Oversight Committee’s Special Rules, I state the following in support of the motion: 1. The information being sought is necessary to the work of the Committee because: The two previous subpoenas from this Committee to the Department of Attorney General involved criminal investigations that presented issues regarding conflicts of interest between the Department of Attorney General and the suspects of the criminal referral and criminal investigation. The Michigan House of Representatives has an interest in obtaining documents regarding these closed investigations, as the House examines and debates whether to enact legislation addressing how conflicts of interest such as this should be regulated by statute. Furthermore, the House has the ability to impeach civil officers of the State of Michigan, where corrupt conduct in office occurs. In order to faithfully exercise its responsibilities in this regard, the House is entitled to investigate the Department of Attorney General’s decision to decline issuing criminal charges in these matters, which involved either a family member of the Attorney General, or a high-ranking officer of a major political party of this state. 2. Previous efforts made to obtain the information being sought are as follows: To pursue this committee’s investigation into the conduct of the Attorney General, the committee’s investigators have taken a deep dive into the cases that the Attorney General’s office was supposed to investigate. It has come to the committee’s attention that the Department of Health and Human Services is in possession of records pertinent to this committee’s investigation of the Attorney General. On November 13, 2025, the House Deputy General Counsel requested those records from DHHS. On November 14, 2025, the DHHS’s legislative liaison replied that the Legislature was required to file a FOIA request in order to obtain any documents sought from DHHS. On November 15, 2025, the Deputy General Counsel forwarded the request and the initial DHHS response to the Division Director of the Operations and Assistance Legal Division of DHHS, in the Bureau of Legal Affairs. On November 22, 2025, the Chief Operating Officer of the DHHS replied, and stated that a written request for documents from the House Deputy General Counsel did not count as a written request from the legislature, and that the documents could not be disclosed, unless DHHS receives either a FOIA request or a subpoena from the House of Representatives. To date, no documents have been disclosed by DHHS to the House of Representatives or the House Oversight Committee. 3. The party to be subpoenaed is Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the record keeper for the Adult Protective Services division. 4. The subpoena will be for all documents in the possession of Adult Protective Services related to a deceased individual, Rosalene Burd, and the subpoena will specify that those documents are to be provided without redaction.
Chair DeBoyer moved that the House Oversight Committee authorize the Chair of the committee to execute a subpoena to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In accordance with the Oversight Committee’s Special Rules, I state the following in support of the motion: 1. The information being sought is necessary to the work of the Committee because: The two previous subpoenas from this Committee to the Department of Attorney General involved criminal investigations that presented issues regarding conflicts of interest between the Department of Attorney General and the suspects of the criminal referral and criminal investigation. The Michigan House of Representatives has an interest in obtaining documents regarding these closed investigations, as the House examines and debates whether to enact legislation addressing how conflicts of interest such as this should be regulated by statute. Furthermore, the House has the ability to impeach civil officers of the State of Michigan, where corrupt conduct in office occurs. In order to faithfully exercise its responsibilities in this regard, the House is entitled to investigate the Department of Attorney General’s decision to decline issuing criminal charges in these matters, which involved either a family member of the Attorney General, or a high-ranking officer of a major political party of this state. 2. Previous efforts made to obtain the information being sought are as follows: To pursue this committee’s investigation into the conduct of the Attorney General, the committee’s investigators have taken a deep dive into the cases that the Attorney General’s office was supposed to investigate. It has come to the committee’s attention that the Department of Health and Human Services is in possession of records pertinent to this committee’s investigation of the Attorney General. On November 13, 2025, the House Deputy General Counsel requested those records from DHHS. On November 14, 2025, the DHHS’s legislative liaison replied that the Legislature was required to file a FOIA request in order to obtain any documents sought from DHHS. On November 15, 2025, the Deputy General Counsel forwarded the request and the initial DHHS response to the Division Director of the Operations and Assistance Legal Division of DHHS, in the Bureau of Legal Affairs. On November 22, 2025, the Chief Operating Officer of the DHHS replied, and stated that a written request for documents from the House Deputy General Counsel did not count as a written request from the legislature, and that the documents could not be disclosed, unless DHHS receives either a FOIA request or a subpoena from the House of Representatives. To date, no documents have been disclosed by DHHS to the House of Representatives or the House Oversight Committee. 3. The party to be subpoenaed is Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the record keeper for the Adult Protective Services division. 4. The subpoena will be for all documents in the possession of Adult Protective Services related to a deceased individual, Rosalene Burd, and the subpoena will specify that those documents are to be provided without redaction. The motion prevailed 15-1-1: FAVORABLE ROLL CALL Yeas: Reps. DeBoyer, Bierlein, Meerman, Paquette, Carra, Bruck, Rigas, Schriver, Woolford, St. Germaine, Miller, Pohutsky, Conlin, Mentzer and Wegela. Nays: Rep. Tsernoglou. Pass: Rep. MacDonell. At 11:02 AM, the Chair laid the committee at ease. At 11:16 AM, the Chair called the committee back to order. The Chair returned to the report on the subpoenaed documents from the Office of the Attorney General presented by Catherine Edwards, Kasey Markarian, and Omar Shajrah, representing the Michigan House Legal Counsel. Questions and discussion followed.