In 2016 when she was Candidate Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan issued “Get it Done: A Michigan Sunshine Plan.” The first item under the headline “Making State Government More Transparent & Responsive to Taxpayers” was this bullet point:
Expanding Freedom of Information Act to include the governor’s office and legislature. We are just one of two states that does not already do this. If the legislature won’t act, I will use the governor’s authority under the Michigan State Constitution to extend FOIA to the Lieutenant Governor and Governor’s Offices. Michiganders should know when and what their governor is working on.
It’s been eight years since this report was released and still Michigan remains in the basement when it comes to transparency. This is despite the efforts of two state Senators who have been pushing legislation for years to remove exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act for the Governor and the Legislature.
In 2016 shortly after a scandal involving two state Representatives resulted in their expulsion and the citizens of Michigan were still trying to sort out what had happened in Flint causing a water crisis that put the Mitten on the national news daily, then Representative Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) and Representative Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) introduced legislation that would shine a light on the Governor and the legislature by removing exemptions in the law that protected them from having to release information.
This legislation passed the House with an overwhelming majority. And then died in the Senate. The same thing happened again in the 2017-2018 legislative session, the 2019-2020 legislative session and the 2021-2022 legislative session.
As 2023 began there was hope that the tide would turn…the Democrats had majority in the Senate and the House and McBroom and Moss were now State Senators. Newly elected Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) expressed support for removing the exemptions and advocates for transparency felt there was a good chance sunshine in Michigan was imminent. Several additional scandals had impacted the legislature including the incarceration of a former Speaker of the House and the indictment of another.
Sadly, the bills still languish in the House Government Operations Committee after passing the Senate earlier this year, 36-2.
As the last month of this legislative session approaches, the Michigan Press Association urges citizens to let their Representative know it’s time to pass these bills and get Michigan out of the bottom rankings for accountability for government officials in our country.
Trust in government is dangerously low and the inability to have access to the records and activities of elected officials is not going to improve that trust. It’s time for the state House to take up these bills and pass them to the Governor’s desk before the end of session. Then she can fulfill the promise of her Sunshine Plan.
John T. Elchert, President
Michigan Press Association
Board of Directors
Chief Operating Officer,
Blackbird, regional office