This resolution is offered to comply with MCL 4.101, MCL 4.541, and Rule 37 of the standing rules of the house of representatives.
house Resolution No.342
Rep. Cole offered the following resolution:
Whereas, Full access to accurate information is essential for sound decision making by any public or private body; and
Whereas, The Legislature is responsible for establishing laws governing the conduct of elections. Article I, Section 4 and Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States vests state legislatures with the authority to prescribe election procedures for congressional and presidential elections. Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 charges the Legislature with enacting laws on elections, stating, in part:
Except as otherwise provided in this constitution or in the constitution or laws of the United States the legislature shall enact laws to regulate the time, place and manner of all nominations and elections, to preserve the purity of elections, to preserve the secrecy of the ballot, to guard against abuses of the elective franchise, and to provide for a system of voter registration and absentee voting.
; and
Whereas, According to the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives and Michigan law, standing committees of the House of Representatives, including the House Standing Committee on Oversight, may be granted the power to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and examine books and records; and
Whereas, Section 1 of 1952 PA 46, MCL 4.541, provides, in part, that:
...any standing or select committee of the senate or the house of representatives, and any joint select committee of the senate and house of representatives, shall be authorized to subpoena and have produced before any such committee, or inspect the records and files of any state department, board, institution or agency; and it shall be the duty of any state department, board, institution or agency to produce before the committee as required by the subpoena, or permit the members of any such committee to inspect its records and files.
; and
Whereas, Section 1 of 1931 PA 118, MCL 4.101, provides:
Committees and commissions of or appointed by the legislature may by resolution of the legislature be authorized to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and/or to examine the books and records of any persons, partnerships or corporations involved in a matter properly before any of such committees or commissions. Any witness who neglects or refuses to obey a subpoena of any of such committees or commissions, or who refuses to be sworn or testify, or who fails on demand to produce any papers, books or documents touching any matter under investigation, or any witness or attorney who is guilty of any contempt while in attendance at any hearing before any of such committees or commissions, may be punished as for contempt of the legislature.
; and
Whereas, Pursuant to Rule 37 of the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives, the authority for a committee to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and examine books and records shall be granted by resolution; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That, pursuant to the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives and Michigan law, we hereby grant the House Standing Committee on Oversight the full scope of power as authorized by MCL 4.101 and MCL 4.541 to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and examine books and records of any persons, partnerships, corporations, state departments, state boards, state institutions, or state agencies related to the 2020 primary and general elections.