In a significant move towards enhancing governmental transparency, Michigan’s Legislature and executive branch are a step closer to being subjected to open records laws. On Wednesday, the House Government Operations Committee advanced a crucial bill package to the House floor, potentially allowing the public access to a wealth of governmental records.
The proposed legislation aims to apply the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the legislative and executive branches, granting public access to communications, meeting schedules, and other official records.
State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), a co-sponsor of the package, emphasized the importance of these transparency measures. He told the Government Operations Committee, “This will be intrusive. This will be disruptive. You will be subject to FOIA. And if you served on the local unit of your government, you were subject to FOIA. You know how that can work. But at the same time, I don’t think it disrupts the core functions of our government. In fact, I think it enhances the core functions of our government.”
While the bills passed the Senate in June, marking a historic first for similar policies, the recent committee vote is the first instance where both legislative chambers have engaged with the proposal. However, the bills do introduce exceptions for certain records, such as communications from constituents, policy recommendations, and government appointments.
Concerns have been raised about the potential for these exceptions to enable influential individuals to communicate privately with lawmakers. However, co-sponsor Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp) countered this, stating that it would be difficult for lawmakers to conceal significant information due to the nature of legislative communications. “They’re still going to have to go talk to their other colleagues and those communications are very likely to also then flow to ones who aren’t that constituent’s member, and so, the chances that you can mask those kinds of things are pretty low,” McBroom explained.
The bills have garnered support from open government advocates, who urge the full House to proceed with a vote. Sam Inglot, executive director of Progress Michigan, views the legislation as a critical step in addressing the transparency issues plaguing Michigan’s government. He stated, “Michigan isn’t dead last in ethics and transparency just because our FOIA law is terrible, there’s a lot of other reasons for that. So, if we’re able to pass FOIA, that’s one hole in the Swiss cheese that we’ve plugged. And I think we’re going to have to see how that plays out and look for other opportunities.”
Should the bills receive approval from the House, Moss’ bill will be sent to the governor for signing. Meanwhile, McBroom’s bill requires a concurrence vote in the Senate due to committee amendments, as outlined here. The new regulations are slated to take effect in January 2027, coinciding with the inauguration of the next state Legislature and governor.
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