This is the column I’ve written the most frequently in my career – and one I wish I’d never have to write again.
But here we are – Michigan’s government transparency law is lousy; the solutions are obvious; and your elected officials aren’t rushing to change the status quo.
Bipartisan bills to reform the Freedom of Information Act to include the Legislature and Governor’s Office passed the Senate last year and were poised for a vote in the House in December but died in a chaotic lame-duck session meltdown.
January ushered in a new House speaker, Rep. Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, and he has since said the bills are “not a priority” and even “dead” for this session.
We’re amid Sunshine Week, an annual news media focus on transparency for the good of the public and so we can better do our job as watchdogs of government.
And this year glimmers of light are poking through the fog.
Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, told MLive that Speaker Hall “might say something is dead today and then along comes a deal later … and suddenly things are resurrected. I’m going to keep a positive spirit about it and continue to be ready to advocate.”
McBroom has been working with Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, since 2015 to remove the FOIA exemptions for the governor and lawmakers. They’ve introduced the bills numerous times but have never made it to a final vote.
McBroom and Moss have co-authored the following opinion piece, explaining why reform is essential for our state and citizens. I applaud them and encourage you to contact your local representative to express support for getting these bills debated and passed in the House.
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By Jeremy Moss and Ed McBroom
It feels like our politics are more divided than ever. But if you listen closely to what residents on both the left and right are saying, there is a common theme: A demand for a more transparent and accountable government.
Our legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act in Michigan achieves just that.
Through FOIA, the public can request the behind-the-scenes documents – emails, memos, agendas, schedules, and more – from their city or township hall, their school district, county officials, and state departments to better understand how the government decisions that impact them are made.
Who did your mayor meet with? What did your school board members send to each other? Did the county follow through on the issue you brought up? Residents can find all of that out through FOIA.
But shockingly, Michigan’s law does not subject our governor and state legislators to those same record requests, thereby blocking the public from seeing the inner workings of our state Capitol.
All 50 states have FOIA, but Michigan is nearly alone in the country with those outrageous and glaring exemptions for the executive and lawmakers. This contributes to why our state ranks worst in the country in government ethics. When state government officials operate in the dark, scandals in Lansing continue to persist.
Nearly a decade ago, as representatives in the Michigan House – a Democrat from metro-Detroit and a Republican from the Upper Peninsula – we joined together to introduce legislation that finally includes the governor’s office and Legislature in Michigan’s FOIA to bring sunshine to state government.
Our bills passed in the House, but the Senate refused to take it up. Then we were both elected to the Senate, where we passed our legislation last year, but the House wouldn’t move on it.
This year, we introduced our legislation as the very first bills of the new session: Senate Bills 1 and 2. They passed overwhelmingly in January and were swiftly sent over to the House, where they currently sit.
It’s past time for the full Legislature – Republicans and Democrats – to come together to act on these bills. The public should not have to wait any longer.
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