LANSING, Mich. – With growing distrust in government, two bills could increase transparency in Lansing.
The bills would allow the governor, lieutenant governor, and Legislature to be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.
Michigan is known as one of the worst states for government transparency.
It’s one of two states that exempts its governor and one of eight where the Legislature is exempt from complying with FOIA requests.
That could soon change if two Senate bills go up for a vote in the House.
Democratic State Senator Jeremy Moss of Southfield believes the public should be able to access more information about the inner workings of their state government.
“So, 48 other states can figure out how to how to get this done and make it work, surely Michigan should, too,” Moss said.
Charlie Kadado, a media law attorney at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP’s Bloomfield Hills office, is pushing the Legislature to get the bills across the finish line.
“FOIA is a tool to hold their government accountable, essentially shines a light on government operations, helps deter corruption, fosters trust. Without FOIA, it is like trying to understand your government with a blindfold on,” he said.
Moss began working on FOIA legislation about a decade ago, first as a member of the House.
“This is the term we’ve made the most amount of progress on this. We’ve gotten it out of the Senate. We got it into the House. We got it out of the House committee. It is literally before the House floor, even as we speak,” Moss said.
Although Kadado supports the FOIA bills, he does have some critiques.
“One of the biggest limitations is the idea that the package of bills being non-retroactive. Essentially, what that means is that any records under these bills created before Jan. 1, 2027, will remain off-limits. That means that we won’t gain any insight into past decisions or controversies,” Kadado said.
Moss believes the bills would pass the House with bipartisan support. But it’s unclear if that vote will happen, as House Republicans and one Democratic member are boycotting the session.
The last House session of the legislative term is Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024,
Local 4 reached out to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office about the FOIA bills.
Stacey LaRouche, a spokesperson for Governor Whitmer, said the office reviews legislation as it makes its way through the process.
“Governor Whitmer believes that state government must be open, transparent, and accountable to taxpayers. She is the first governor in state history to voluntarily disclose personal financial information, and income tax returns.
In her first weeks in office, the governor signed numerous executive directives outlined in her Michigan Sunshine Plan that require state departments to create a FOIA Liaison, encourage the live streaming of all state board and commission meetings, and prohibit the use of personal email to do government business.”
Stacey LaRouche, a spokesperson for Governor Whitmer