Records: Secret security plan for Michigan Capitol to cost $2M, replace bulletproof windows

• Public records request reveals the state plans to spend $2 million for Capitol security upgrades, including replacing ‘ballistics windows’
• Little else is known about the project, which the state Capitol Commission said was necessary for ‘critical’ security purposes
• Upgrades come as Michigan State Police reveal rockstar Ted Nugent brought a gun to the Capitol earlier this week  

LANSING — "Critical" security upgrades at the Michigan Capitol that officials initially refused to disclose will cost $2 million and include new bulletproof windows for the governor's ceremonial office on the second floor, according to records obtained by Bridge Michigan.

The Michigan Capitol Commission this week revealed limited details about the project in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Documents show the Michigan-based Christman Company and Quinn Evans Architects have already billed the state nearly $334,000 for design and pre-construction services related to the project.

As part of the overall $2 million effort, the state plans to replace “ballistic windows” on the governor’s office in the Capitol Building that were last replaced in 1992, according to Patricia Williams, FOIA coordinator for the State Capitol Commission. 

Ballistic windows are also commonly known as bulletproof windows, which are designed to withstand impact from projectiles. The replacements “will match the aesthetics of the established and approved design,” Williams said.

The governor's Capitol office, which includes outward-facing windows, is largely ceremonial — the official executive suite is located across the street in the Romney Building. But the Capitol space is used for meetings, including Thursday evening, when Whitmer, state House Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks met for ongoing budget negotiations.

‘Rendered useless’

Beyond the windows, the Capitol Commission has not yet disclosed other elements of the security upgrade or any timelines. Instead, the commission will bid out the remainder of the project at a later date.

News surrounding the security upgrades first came to light during a regular meeting of the Michigan State Capitol Commission. 

Related:

• Panel: Public can’t know cost, details of ‘critical’ security project at Michigan Capitol
• As GOP targets Michigan DNR, Ted Nugent blasts agency’s ‘insane’ regulations
• Michigan Senate OKs plan critics argue will 'vastly expand secrecy in public bodies'

The six-member commission, appointed by legislative leaders and the governor, approved the security project after a closed meeting on June 9 and declined to disclose any details at the time, including the cost. 

“The recommendation was of the type that, if it were publicly known, it would be rendered useless as a security measure,” William Kandler, who chairs the commission, told reporters at the time. 

Kandler did note, however, that both House and Senate leaders, as well as the governor, were aware of what the upgrades would cost and entail.

Transparency advocates questioned the secret spending. The Michigan Constitution specifies that “all financial records … and other reports of public money shall be public records open to inspection.”

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, told reporters earlier this month he wasn’t able to speak more on the subject but wasn’t concerned by the secrecy given the recent shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers in allegedly politically motivated attacks. 

“They made the decision, but I’m supporting their decision,” Hall said of the Capitol Commission, adding that he agreed with not wanting to “telegraph all the details” of the security project if it risked its efficacy. 

Nugent brings in gun

As conversations regarding Capitol security continue, a separate incident this week drew scrutiny over how thoroughly law enforcement checks visitors for weapons prior to entering the building.

Rock guitarist and conservative activist Ted Nugent appeared in the Capitol Wednesday to testify on what he described as government overreach in conservation efforts throughout Michigan.

State police later confirmed Nugent had carried a gun into the building despite firearm bans implemented by the Capitol Commission in 2021 and 2023. The rules include limited exemptions for lawmakers with concealed weapon permits and law enforcement officers. 

Shanon Banner, a spokesperson for the Michigan State Police, told Bridge that officers had somehow missed an alert that had been triggered when Nugent entered the building.

“The weapons detection system functioned correctly and alerted to a possible weapon; however, the trooper staffing the entry point did not see the alert until after Mr. Nugent left the screening area,” Banner wrote.

State police personnel later contacted Nugent following the hearing to notify him of the weapons policy, Banner said, “and he complied.” 

“We are still evaluating how the weapons detection alert was missed and will be following up to ensure this does not happen again,” she added.

The Capitol Commission voted to install the weapons detection systems following an April 2020 protest against COVID-19 rules that saw militia members bring firearms onto balconies overlooking legislative chambers.