LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad on Tuesday issued a scathing assessment of a 2026 Michigan Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report revealing a pattern of mismanagement, missing documentation, conflicted oversight and taxpayer dollars spent by the state health department without basic controls or proper oversight.

“These audits are not isolated glitches. They are a damning indictment of an administration that treats taxpayer money as a slush fund and basic accountability as optional,” said Runestad, R-White Lake. “Up and down the government, the same failures keep appearing: no monitoring, no verification, no consequences. Michigan families and taxpayers deserve better.”

Over two years, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services awarded $435 million — nine high-level grants and 857 project agreements — to a single nonprofit, Michigan Public Health Institute. The OAG found that MDHHS:

• Paid out $108 million before validating the status of the work performed.
• Had no supporting documentation for nearly 70% of the costs reviewed.
• Awarded $21 million in unauthorized subcontracting without required approvals from the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.
• Submitted incomplete or missing semiannual reports to the Legislature required by law.

Runestad called for immediate joint House and Senate oversight hearings, a full accounting of any recoverable funds, and statutory reforms requiring real-time expenditure verification, independent conflict-of-interest reviews for large contractors and automatic legislative reporting triggers when repeated OAG material condition violations are reported.

“Year after year, the auditor general documents the same failures, and year after year the departments respond with partial agreements and delays,” Runestad said. “Enough. These Democrat dark money schemes must end. Government dollars should go to classrooms, child safety and legitimate workforce training instead of disappearing into unmonitored department contracts and unverified claims.”

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