Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel missed a March 25 deadline to release documents related to the cost of the Flint water crisis litigation. This seven-year effort has resulted in zero convictions so far.

Nessel faces pressure from Michigan State Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, who chairs the House’s Weaponization of State Government Subcommittee. Rigas had given Nessel a March 25 deadline for supplying the information to the subcommittee.

Rigas wants itemized lists of costs and state funds spent on the Flint prosecutions, which spanned seven years but failed to produce convictions. The request falls within the subcommittee’s mandate to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of state resources in governmental operations.

“This is a major win for transparency and a victory for the people of Michigan,” Rigas said in a news release. “House Oversight and the Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government are finally pulling back the curtain on a critical issue that’s been years in the making. Many of our residents care deeply about the money spent on these prosecutions and want the details to come to light.”

Rigas plans to release all relevant documents to the public after Nessel produces them and the subcommittee reviews them. She sent the letter on March 12, 2025, according to a new release.

Besides billable hours, legal fees and other costs incurred by the AG’s office, Rigas asked for a breakdown of state funds expended on the cases as well as copies of contracts and invoices from third-party sources and settlements or cost recoveries tied to the prosecutions.

“Michigan residents have entrusted House Republicans with a mandate for truth and transparency,” Rigas said in a statement. “Citizens have a right to see how their tax dollars were spent, and we’re going to help them get the answers.”

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Nessel sent a letter on March 26 saying her office “intends to fully cooperate with the subcommittee and produce all requested documents.” However, the AG’s office needs another eight weeks to prepare documents related to the cost of the Flint water crisis litigation.

“We intend to deliver to you a comprehensive set of documents cataloging these years of investigative and prosecutorial efforts and their costs, from 2016 to the close of our prosecutions in 2023,” Nessel wrote in a Wednesday letter to Rigas.

As of September 2022, the cost of the Flint water crisis civil litigation totaled about $60 million, according to a Detroit News review of costs. That included the state’s involvement in Flint-related civil cases, the prosecution of the criminal case and the representation of state employees involved in the civil and criminal cases.

The case became one of the worst modern-day examples of the failure of government to protect citizens. In 2014, the City of Flint switched its water supply without proper care to ensure prevention of lead contamination. Many of the city’s residents were effectively poisoned, despite complaints about the color, odor and taste of the water they were drinking and bathing in—and paying for.

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Two state investigations under two administrations led to high-profile criminal charges, including allegations of involuntary manslaughter, official misconduct and willful neglect of duty, ProPublica reported in May 2024. State officials, including the former director of the state health agency and the former governor, were charged. But no case made it to trial.

Prosecution efforts began in April 2016 under Republican then-state Attorney General Bill Schuette, who charged an employee of the City of Flint and two Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees for their roles in the crisis.

Nessel took office in 2018 and in 2021 her office announced charges for Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder, his aides and officials in Flint for their response to citizens’ concerns about the water, Michigan Advance reports.

The subcommittee has three Republican members, Rigas and Reps. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, and Jason Woolford, R-Howell, while two Democrats also serve on the committee, Reps Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, and Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City.

All Republican members of the subcommittee signed the letter. Rigas has set a mandate for the new committee to address what she called a “growing threat of political prosecution” by state departments and agencies.

Rigas, who took office in 2023, attended the “Operation Haircut” protest at the State Capitol in May 2020 to protest COVID lockdown orders. Rigas herself was charged for her actions “Operation Haircut,” where she and other hairstylists and barbers gathered with hundreds of participants to rail against the orders. The charges were eventually dropped.