GOP legislators argued that graduations are a tradition that should be preserved despite concerns that large events risk spreading coronavirus infections.
What to know as Michigan lawmakers debate subjecting themselves, governor’s office to public records laws
Updated Mar 19, 2021;
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Unlike the vast majority of the U.S., Michigan has no legal mechanism compelling state lawmakers and the governor to fork over their records when asked.
Government transparency advocates have long argued the state’s broad exemptions for the state Legislature and governor’s office in the Freedom of Information Act shrouds the actions of public officials in secrecy. Over the last decade, lawmakers have grown more amenable to changing the law, although efforts to do so haven’t yet made it to the governor’s desk.
Open records reform has the votes. It has momentum following an outcry over Gov. Whitmer’s secret payments to top aides. But the Senate majority leader has blocked similar legislation before.
House pushes to include governor, lawmakers under open records act sooeveningnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sooeveningnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Michigan House lawmakers want to make it easier for people to obtain records from the governor and the Legislature. But they ve pushed this rock up the hill before, only to see their efforts ignored in the Senate.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House hope this legislative session is different. On Thursday, the House Oversight Committee reviewed 10 bills that would expand Michigan s open records law so that the highest elected leaders in the state would need to turn over some records when requested.
Chairman Steven Johnson, R-Wayland, and other lawmakers pointed to recent revelations about confidentiality agreements and payments between former state government officials and the office of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as evidence the reforms are needed now more than ever.