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ALPENA -- The state lawmakers who represent Northeast Michigan both support an effort to reverse Michigan's long-standing ranking near the bottom of states for transparency.
State Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, and state Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, both of whom represent Northeast Michigan, each told The News they support bills that would make it easier for residents to receive information from the state government by making changes to the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Senate Bills 669 and 670 would amend the state's FOIA laws and for the first time subject the Legislature and the Governor's Office to FOIA's disclosure requirements.
Currently, both government institutions are exempt from FOIA.
The Legislative Services Bureau, Senate Fiscal Agency, and House Fiscal Agency would remain exempt from FOIA requirements.
The bills cleared the Senate Oversight Committee, which voted last week to move the bills forward to the full state Senate for consideration. While some lawmakers have tried to subject the Legislature and governor to disclosure laws for years, such efforts have repeatedly stalled, so the committee vote marks significant progress in the effort.
Hoitenga told The News that, if the FOIA amendments come to a vote in the Senate, she will vote in favor of it.
"This legislation will provide our state's transparency laws with a much-needed boost, as it adds the governor, lieutenant governor, and Legislature to the list of public bodies subject to FOIA," Hoitenga said. "Our citizens are entitled to a higher standard of ethics and transparency, as Michigan has been consistently ranked near the bottom in these areas. I eagerly anticipate casting my yes vote on these critically important measures."
Although the bills have a way to go before they move over to the state House for consideration, Cavitt said he also intends to support the pair of bills if they come to the House floor, because he believes the legislation offers a tool that will allow the public to police their elected officials and reduce the chance of government corruption.
"One of my top priorities in office is to increase government transparency," Cavitt said. "We've seen too many elected officials take advantage of a broken system. We need solutions to restore trust in our government and empower citizens to hold politicians accountable. We cannot continue to let the fox guard the henhouse. Although this legislation isn't perfect, it's a step in the right direction for Michigan."
The laws offer a lengthy list of exemptions for materials that would remain not subject to disclosure.
Among the exemptions are any trade secrets or commercial or financial information provided to an agency for use in developing governmental policy, information or records subject to executive privilege of the governor's office, records or information that could affect the security of the governor or lieutenant governor, the cellular telephone number of the governor or lieutenant governor or an employee of their office, or records or information pertaining to an internal investigation.
All records created by the Office of the Governor and the Legislature before the bill's effective date would remain exempt from disclosure.
The bills are tie-barred, and each bill would take effect on Jan. 1 of the first odd-numbered year that begins six months after its enactment. So, if the Legislature passes the bills and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs them before July, the bills would take effect New Year's Day.
Senate Bill 670 adds the procedural component to the changes to FOIA. It requires the state Senate majority leader and the speaker of the state House to designate a FOIA coordinator for the state Senate and state House of Representatives and prescribes the process for making an appeal to the Legislature upon the denial of a FOIA request.
According to an analysis of the bills by the state Senate Fiscal Agency, the bills would have no fiscal impact on local units of government. The bills' requirement for the Executive Office and the Legislature to comply with FOIA requests and to designate a FOIA coordinator could require the Executive Office and the Legislature to hire additional staff. The average salary for a classified state employee in Fiscal Year 2022-23 was $145,000 for salary and benefits.