Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall Claims Transparency Award From Nonexistent Organization

Speaker's Asinine Decision Award Winner Announced

LANSING — Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, claimed on Tuesday to have received a transparency award from an organization that might not exist, according to multiple news reports.

At a press conference inside the state Capitol during Sunshine Week, Hall announced he had been honored by a group called Michigan Sunshine Transparency and Accountability for Taxpayer Expenditures, or MI STATE. He read a letter he said came from the group's board of directors recognizing his work implementing stricter vetting rules for budget earmarks, which Hall called the "Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency plan," or HEAT.

"We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as the sole recipient of our sunshine advocate award," Hall read from the letter during the press conference. "While we reviewed many pieces of legislation and overall legislative activity, we note your advocacy for and passage of the HEAT plan, the Hall Ethics Accountability and Transparency plan."

However, as of Wednesday, there was no record of an organization named MI STATE or Michigan Sunshine Transparency and Accountability for Taxpayer Expenditures being incorporated in Michigan. The group has no apparent internet presence, and multiple transparency advocates told The Detroit News they had never heard of it.

Plus, two sources familiar with the situation said the award, which Hall presented as serious in his briefing, wasn't actually serious. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal matters.

Hall's office has not responded to requests for copies of the letter the group allegedly sent him informing him of the transparency award.

In a statement, Hall said a "group of transparency advocates reached out to give me an award and thank me for the work I did to shine a light on state funding."

"People are sick and tired of business as usual in Lansing, and I'm putting a stop to it," Hall added. "HEAT is the most important ethics reform to pass in Lansing in a decade, and everyone knows it, including MI STATE. That's a great thing that should be celebrated, and I'm glad MI STATE is celebrating this big win for taxpayers. You should celebrate it, too."

The speaker didn't reply to a text message asking for any proof he had that the award was real.

HEAT Plan and Earmark Reforms

During the Tuesday press conference, Hall described the group, MI STATE, as "what most people consider to be one of the premier transparency and accountability organizations out there."

"I am the No. 1 ethics, accountability and transparency legislator probably that you guys have ever covered," Hall said Tuesday. "And I've done more for ethics, accountability and transparency in the state capitol than any leader probably ever."

Democratic senator Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield Township, accused Hall of making up the award in a social media post Tuesday night. Moss has championed legislation to subject lawmakers and the governor's office to the Freedom of Information Act, which requires government agencies to release records upon a request from the public. Hall has refused to take up the bills, which passed the Senate last year.

Hall's HEAT plan has been credited with passing Michigan's new earmark transparency reforms that require legislators to publicly disclose spending requests 45 days before final budget votes. The reforms came after a series of scandals tied to a wave of earmark spending.

One wayward earmark in 2022 led to criminal charges, with David Coker, a former aide to then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, allegedly using a nonprofit he created during 2022 budget negotiations to embezzle more than $100,000 of a $25 million earmark for a health and fitness park in Clare.

Another $20 million grant in the same budget bill remains under investigation after revelations emerged that the money was awarded to a nonprofit created by a Michigan Economic Development Corporation board member and Whitmer ally, Fay Beydoun, who spent large sums on air travel, lodging and an expensive coffee maker.

The legislation approved in November would prohibit grants to newly formed nonprofits like those created by Coker and Beydoun. Only nonprofits that had operated in the state for three years and had a physical office could qualify.

Democratic Party Response

The Michigan Democratic Party is pleased to announce that Hall has received the SAD Award, or Speaker's Asinine Decision Award.

"Matt Hall gave himself an award that is so transparent that no one can even see it," said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel. "We're thrilled to now share that Matt Hall is the winner of our SAD Award. Whether it's sucking up to Donald Trump or cutting funding for kids and families, Matt Hall makes asinine decisions on a daily basis. We can think of no better winner of the SAD Award and we look forward to Matt Hall accepting this prestigious achievement at his next press conference."

Gongwer News Service reported that there is no online presence, social media presence or evidence in the state business entity search portal for Michigan Sunshine Transparency and Accountability for Taxpayer Expenditures. Nor is there any evidence for any permutation of MI STATE.

Lisa McGraw, the public policy manager for the Michigan Press Association, which advocates for increasing government transparency, said as far as she knows, MI STATE doesn't exist.

"I have never heard of them," McGraw said.

Likewise, Michael Reitz, a transparency advocate and executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, said he hadn't heard of MI STATE before Hall's press conference.

Hall has frequently opened his weekly press conferences by announcing awards he received from different policy and media groups.