If House Republicans have their way, Michigan’s secretary of state will face more than a warning for a campus finance law violation.
House Speaker Matt Hall threatened budget consequences for her department. That came after Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was let off with a warning for violating Michigan’s campaign finance law.
“Who is going to hold her accountable for violating the law?” Hall asked Tuesday, May 20. “And it may have to be the legislature. We may have to do it through oversight hearings and through her budget. That may ultimately be what has to happen.”
The budget actions could include cuts to Benson’s department as well as directives on how to use funding, a spokesperson for the Richland Township Republican said.
While Benson is an elected executive official, the Michigan Legislature, with approval from the governor, sets her budget.
Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday her office determined Benson violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act when she used a state-owned building earlier this year to announce her run for governor in 2026.
Related: AG Nessel: Jocelyn Benson violated campaign finance law with governor’s race announcement
Benson, a Democrat, on Jan. 22 invited reporters to the lobby of the Richard H. Austin Office Building in Lansing to watch her file candidate paperwork and ask questions about her newly launched campaign for governor.
The MCFA prohibits using public resources, including space, for political campaign activities. Nessel’s office determined Benson’s campaign event violated that provision.
Alyssa Bradley, spokesperson for Benson’s gubernatorial campaign, told MLive that Nessel was issuing “a new interpretation of the law.”
A person who knowingly uses public resources for political campaign activities could face a misdemeanor charge of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Benson was given a reminder of the law and a warning.
While state law allows the attorney general to investigate campaign finance complaints against the secretary of state, it doesn’t give the attorney general the authority to pursue criminal or financial penalties against the elected official. The secretary of state’s office normally handles these complaints.
Joshua Booth, chief of the AG’s Opinions Division, said the outcome was appropriate given the circumstances of the violation. He noted it’s not unusual for the secretary of state to resolve violations with a warning.
Booth pointed out that there’s currently “unequal treatment” in the law, that the secretary of state isn’t treated like other candidates when it comes to being sanctioned for violating the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.
This gap in the law, Booth said, is something the Michigan Legislature may want to consider addressing.
Hall said his chamber will consider rewriting the law and options to punish Benson. He said he’s interested to see if Benson fines herself for the violation.
“We’re going to look at all of the tools that we have at our disposal to decide exactly how to handle this violation of the law, which is pointed out by both Republicans and Democrats as a violation of the law,” he said.
Attorneys for Benson’s campaign were unsuccessful in defending her from the violation. Broadly, they argued Benson’s actions didn’t meet the criteria for the violation and that a violation issued in this circumstance would infringe on her First Amendment rights.
The investigation came after the Michigan Republican Party and two other people filed complaints with the secretary of state’s office alleging Benson violated the MCFA with the press conference.
