LANSING — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson testified before the state House Oversight Committee Tuesday on the botched launch of a new campaign finance website.
Republican lawmakers cast the project, known as MiTN, as a debacle and waste of taxpayer dollars. The website replaced an older system that had issues but was overall functioning.
Benson says that the project would save taxpayers money through lowered maintenance costs once it’s fully functional — but she acknowledged that the website’s initial release fell flat.
Benson says that despite the rocky rollout, she believes the new system will become a useful resource for accessing Michigan campaign finance information.
“I believe we were all sent here by the voters to make things better,” she said. “So that means we need to be willing to tackle big, complicated systems and make necessary improvements that move Michigan into the modern era and make government work better for everyone.”
Republican lawmakers criticized Benson for her handling of the situation but stopped short of taking any action against her or her department.
“How long do we let this go until we look at going with a different company to get this done?” asked Rep. Jason Woolford, (R) District 50, Howell.
A new update is set to release in July with improved search functionality, along with other planned updates through the rest of the year.
