House Oversight Subcommittee Completes UIA Investigation, Recommends 10 Bills
September 29, 2026
Article courtesy of MIRS for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
A yearlong House investigation into the Unemployment Insurance Agency ended today with a 3-0 vote to approve the panel’s findings and recommend 10 bills aimed at preventing fraud and improving how the agency handles benefit claims.
The proposals would restrict when the UIA can shut down fraud-detection software, require it to check its records against other government databases and make it report benefit error rates annually. Other measures would address notices sent to claimants, fees charged to people who received overpayments without committing fraud and penalties for organized unemployment fraud.
“Oversight without reform is just another government report,” said Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell), chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on State and Local Public Assistance Programs. “Great, you’ve uncovered the fraud, but now what’s next? So we’re proposing actual safeguards.”
He said the 10-bill package contains changes directly identified by an Office of Auditor General report, such as strengthening penalties against organized unemployment fraud, saving unemployment applications for seven years, and giving clear notices that explain the decisions made by the UIA.
The UIA would be responsible for cross-checking their database against other governmental agencies to try to find any problems. The UIA would also be responsible for reporting benefit error rates every year.
“We need to find the problem, determine how it happened and then change the law so it can’t simply happen that same way again,” Woolford said.
The subcommittee started without a quorum and a letter was read into the record from House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) that Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) would no longer be a sitting member on the panel.
Woolford raised Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) to sit in as vice chair for Rep. William Bruck (R-Erie). With Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) voting, the three were able to pass the investigation out of committee on a 3-0 vote.
Click here for more News & Resources.