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.
February 26, 2021
The state House Oversight Committee is looking into the governor’s nursing home policies that Republicans say led to numerous deaths. Governor Whitmer denies ever ordering nursing homes to take in those who were infected. But Representative Pat Outman, from Montcalm County, says the governor vetoed a bill that would have prevented the transfer of COVID-positive patients back into nursing homes.
“What really blows my mind is we didn’t have to do this,” said Outman. “We didn’t have to shove COVID positive patients into nursing homes. We literally had field hospitals set up across the state we didn’t even utilize them.”
New bill in Michigan House would allow lottery winners to remain anonymous
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and last updated 2021-02-16 05:33:10-05
LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) â A new bill introduced in the Michigan House will allow lottery winners to remain anonymous in Michigan.
Currently, Michigan law doesn t permit lottery winners to remain anonymous.
âThis is all about providing safety and ensuring winners of these types of games do not receive unwanted, possibly dangerous attention,â Outman said in a release. âThe bill would allow those who win the lottery to have the choice to keep their identities anonymous. Allowing a privacy option gives people a more secure feeling and does not leave them open to harassment or a flood of requests for funds, loans or donations.â