A resolution to urge Jocelyn Benson to release all information in her possession related to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s operations, including any details concerning the organization’s alleged payments to individuals associated with extremist groups, and to publicly address her role in the organization.
This House resolution urges Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to voluntarily release documents and information regarding her past work with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), specifically concerning the organization's alleged payments to extremist groups. The bill is based on a federal indictment that accuses the SPLC of fraudulently diverting donor money to fund individuals associated with hate groups while claiming to fight them. It highlights Benson's previous roles as an undercover investigator and board member at the SPLC during the period of the alleged misconduct, suggesting she may possess unique knowledge of these operations. The resolution calls for her to publicly address her involvement to ensure transparency and avoid any appearance of impropriety, citing her prior refusal to comply with a separate subpoena as a reason for this request.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2026
Committee Review
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced May 13, 2026
Last action May 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
House Introduced Resolution
→
House Adopted Resolution
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally adopted by adding the names of sponsoring representatives and reformatting the text into standard legislative style. The substantive content, including the allegations against the SPLC and the request for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to release information, remains unchanged.
TECHNICAL
Added a list of sponsoring representatives (Reps. Smit, Alexander, BeGole, etc.) to the header, converting the document from a draft proposal to an officially adopted resolution.
Reformatted the text to remove internal markup symbols (like '1...1') and standardize line breaks and indentation to match official legislative formatting.
Floor votes · House May 13, 2026
How they voted
56–49
Passed
Total votes 105
May 13, 2026
D
Democratic49
100% Nay
R
Republican56
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
0
May 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
adopted
lower
May 13, 2026
Introduced
introduced by Representative Rep. Rachelle Smit
lower
1 primary · 41 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Rachelle Smit
RRepublican
Co
Alicia St. Germaine
RRepublican
Co
Angela Rigas
RRepublican
Co
Ann Bollin
RRepublican
Co
Bill Schuette
RRepublican
Co
Brad Paquette
RRepublican
Co
Brad Slagh
RRepublican
Co
Brian BeGole
RRepublican
Co
Bryan Posthumus
RRepublican
Co
Cam Cavitt
RRepublican
Co
Curt VanderWall
RRepublican
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