State Rep. Matt Hall, of Marshall, today issued the following statement on a letter sent to Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. The letter involves recent media reports suggesting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may direct state departments and employees within the administration to not cooperate with certain requests made by the newly formed Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic if the request doesn’t meet her personal expectations:

“Based on the comments that were made in these reports, I felt it was necessary to send this letter to ensure the Legislature can provide proper and needed oversight during this ongoing public health emergency. As the governor said herself – transparency and accountability are important.

“I have received thousands of calls and emails over the past several weeks about decisions made by the administration during the coronavirus outbreak. People are facing incredible hardship and they deserve answers from decision-makers. Filing this letter will help provide those answers.

“Throughout this crisis, the House and Senate have requested information numerous times from the administration and received little in response. It is imperative that requests for information that the committee sends are taken seriously and responded to promptly. Not for political points or partisan gamesmanship, but for the people we represent.”