Dana’s Initiatives

protect Consumers

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s consumer protection divisions have taken a lead role in fighting against companies that try to take advantage of Michigan consumers, whether it be through unfair utility rate increases or unscrupulous business practices. She launched the Department’s Auto Insurance Fraud Unit to investigate and prosecute individuals and businesses that exploit Michigan residents and the system designed to protect the safety of Michigan’s drivers. And, she established the office’s first Payroll Fraud Enforcement Unit to crackdown on individuals and businesses who try to cheat Michigan’s workers out of their pay and retirement benefits. Dana has since been awarded the Frank J. Kelley Consumer Protection Advocacy Award by the State Bar of Michigan’s Consumer Law Section.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Dana has aggressively pursued scammers and price-gougers trying to take advantage of Michiganders during these perilous times.

defend our civil rights

Our state is home to immense diversity, which is a source of joy and pride for us. That is why Dana wants to make it clear that senseless acts of hate and terror have no place in Michigan. She created the Hate Crimes Unit with the express purpose of protecting everyone in this state from those who wish to terrorize people who live here. She is committed to working relentlessly and tirelessly in cooperation with federal and local authorities on this issue. Dana has received numerous awards for her civil rights initiatives, including the “Champion of Justice” award from the Michigan State Bar Association, “Woman of the Year” from Michigan Lawyers Weekly, the “Treasure of Detroit” award from Wayne State University Law school and most recently, the “LGBTQ+ Inclusion Award” from City Pulse.

SAFEGUARD senior citizens

More than 73,000 older adults in Michigan are victims of elder abuse. As the State’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Attorney General Dana Nessel launched Michigan’s Elder Abuse Task Force, in partnership with the Michigan Supreme Court, to stop the rise of crimes against one of the state’s most vulnerable populations. This task force has taken on significant initiatives such as requiring professional guardians to become certified, developing statutory basic rights for families, and limiting the number of wards per guardian. Dana has gone on a state-wide listening tour to help educate the public on this matter.

protect our environment

Dana has also been a champion of the state’s most important resource – its Great Lakes. Her environmental protection division is actively fighting to ensure clean air, water, and energy for Michigan’s residents so that our most valuable assets are preserved for generations to come. Dana is continuing investigations into the Flint Water Crisis, and has joined the battle to stem the tide of Michigan’s biggest environmental crisis in decades – PFAS contamination. The Michigan League of Conservation Voters chose Dana as their 2019 public official of the year, and the Michigan Sierra Club awarded her environmentalist of the year.

crackdown on robocalls

Michiganders received 1.3 billion robocalls in 2019, and Attorney General Dana Nessel knew she had to take action. As part of her efforts to end illegal robocalls, Dana unveiled 12 initiatives designed to get at the root of the issue and begin putting a halt to illegal robocall scammers in Michigan. The comprehensive, four-pronged approach includes educating Michigan residents on the issue, stricter enforcement of existing laws, legislative work to strengthen Michigan law, and developing a roadmap for other states to follow.

GUARD our healthcare

Attorney General Dana Nessel is ensuring that all Michiganders have access to safe and affordable healthcare. Less than a week after taking office, Dana joined a multi-national lawsuit to ensure that employers could not deny access to birth control coverage for their employees. She has also joined a coalition of states defending the Affordable Care Act on behalf of 1.7 million Michiganders who have pre-existing conditions and the hundreds of thousands of residents who rely on the ACA for health insurance. Dana is also part of a coalition of attorneys general who have filed suit against some of the nation’s largest generic medication manufacturers for conspiring to fix prices and allocate market shares of drugs for treating cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and many other medical conditions affecting Michiganders. Additionally, Dana is the first attorney general to sue opioid manufacturers as drug dealers for knowingly and deliberately using their licenses to distribute addictive drugs in our state without controls.

promote conviction integrity

Dana strongly believes that we have a duty to ensure those convicted of state crimes by county prosecutors and her office are in fact guilty of those crimes. Dana launched the Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate credible claims of innocence to ensure no one is convicted of a crime they didn’t actually commit. The unit works with county prosecutors, law enforcement officials, defense attorneys, and innocence clinic projects to investigate and determine whether there is substantial evidence that reveals that the convicted person was wrongfully accused and convicted. It also develops strategies to rectify wrongful convictions.