LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Michael Webber recently introduced legislation to strengthen requirements for state departments to develop plans to comply with state audit findings and hold agencies accountable when they fail to act on recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General. The bill would also apply to audits conducted by independent inspectors general within state departments.
“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services seems unwilling to fix the Office of Recipient Rights,” said Webber, R-Rochester Hills. “A thorough review from the state’s auditor general outlined the extent of these failures, and a plan should have been put in place to begin fixing the system.”
Webber was instrumental in initiating an audit of the MDHHS Office of Recipient Rights, which is tasked with protecting the rights of public mental health service recipients.
Webber has repeatedly called for legislative hearings on the matter and said he has been misled by MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel on how the department manages the recipient rights system.
“The department agrees with many of the problems outlined in the audit, but no action has been taken,” Webber said. “Months later, we still don’t know what the department’s plan is to protect these vulnerable patients.”
After an audit is completed, a department head is supposed to submit an action plan to the State Budget Office and inspector general. It has been over 70 days since the audit was completed, and MDHHS has yet to submit an action plan. There is currently no concrete mechanism in state law to hold the department accountable or strict statutory timeline it must follow.
Senate Bill 754 would require a department head to submit a plan to comply with audit recommendations within 60 days if an audit determines the department is failing to do its job.
If a department fails to submit a plan, the bill would require the state budget director to notify the Legislature, the auditor general and the governor’s office to ensure appropriate oversight and action is taken.
SB 754 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for further consideration.
###