Some lawmakers — including state Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, who represents Northeast Michigan — remain hopeful new transparency requirements will advance quickly in the new year.

Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act requires local governments, school districts, and state agencies to hand over most documents to the public when a member of the public requests them.

However, Michigan is the only state in the nation that exempts its governor from that policy and one of only two states that exempts its legislature from the transparency requirement.

During this month’s lame duck session in the state House, however, it seemed like there was a chance that bills requiring the Governor’s Office and Legislature to hand over documents could become law.

Michele Hoitenga

This summer, the state Senate overwhelmingly passed the transparency bills. Later this year, the bills cleared a state House committee and were awaiting a vote in the full state House.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer indicated that, if the transparency bills made their way to her desk, she would sign them.

It never reached that point, however, after Republicans left the legislative session early to protest some of the bills they favored not coming up for a vote. A Democratic representative also refused to show up for votes, leading to a lack of quorum in the state House and the adjournment of the term’s session.

Any bills not passed by the Legislature before the end of the legislative term have to start from scratch when the new Legislature convenes next month.

Hoitenga, who voted for the transparency bills earlier this year, said she intends to do so again if and when the issue comes up in the new Legislature.

Hoitenga said many residents don’t trust government now, and allowing access to records and communications of elected officials could help smooth things over.

“I feel the public has lost a lot of trust in the government, and opening up FOIA is one way to win it back,” she said. “I believe in government transparency. I tell my staff all the time, ‘Don’t send me an email or text that you wouldn’t want on the front page of a newspaper.'”

State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, who represents Northeast Michigan in the state House, could not be reached for comment on this story.

He has long said he supports the inclusion of lawmakers and the governor in transparency requirements and said he would support such a bill.

The bills that died this year wouldn’t have required lawmakers or the governor to hand over documents until 2027 and wouldn’t allow Michiganders to request documents produced before that date.

The bills included several exemptions that would allow lawmakers and the governor to withhold several types or records and communications.

For the first time in decades, Democrats for the last two years controlled both chambers of the Legislature, along with the Governor’s Office. That will change next month, however, after Republicans won back the majority of the state House in November’s elections.

Lawmakers and governors from both parties have for several years tried to subject themselves to the transparency requirements, but such efforts have never made it out of the Legislature.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.