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Ahead of Sunshine Week, which highlights the importance of public records and open government, the Michigan Press Association is urging state lawmakers to prioritize transparency and maintain accountability measures that help keep residents informed and engaged.

Michigan continues to rank among the lowest states nationally for open government laws and transparency protections. Without meaningful progress toward reform, the Michigan Press Association said it will not present its annual Peter Pettalia Memorial Sunshine Award this year. The award traditionally recognizes a public official who demonstrates leadership in advancing open government, access to public records and the independence of public notice requirements. The association continues to call on Michigan leaders to halt efforts by some lawmakers to remove requirements for governments and other public institutions to publish important decision-making information in newspapers through public notices. The Michigan Press Association will be mobilizing its members and raising awareness about the dangers of removing requirements for public notices in Michigan among other threats to transparency and accountability.

“Along with the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act, public notice requirements create transparency and accountability among government officials,” said Brad Thompson, co-chair of the Michigan Press Association Public Policy Committee and president of Detroit Legal News Publishing. “These measures play an essential role in a healthy democracy where elected officials act on behalf of their constituents and the public, rather than for personal or political gain.”

Transparency advocates have long argued that Michigan’s open government laws lag behind most other states. Broad exemptions remain in place, and key offices — including the governor and the state Legislature — are not fully subject to the law.

Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act and expanding it to cover those offices would significantly improve public access to information and public confidence in government, the association said. Instead, recent proposals that would weaken public notice requirements risk moving Michigan in the opposite direction by reducing the public’s ability to independently monitor government activity.

“Transparency should never be optional,” said Jim Schaefer of the Detroit Free Press, co-chair of the Michigan Press Association Public Policy Committee. “Michigan residents deserve leaders who actively champion the public’s right to know. Unfortunately, that leadership has been absent over the past year.”

Public notices published in newspapers give residents access to information needed to participate in community decision-making, including election information and notices of public meetings. They also help inform the public about tax proposals, zoning changes, new ordinances and other actions that may affect their communities.

Publishing notices in an independent forum such as newspapers ensures information remains permanently accessible and cannot be altered, hidden or removed by government entities responsible for the actions, the association said.

Shifting notices solely to government-controlled websites would make it more difficult for residents to access critical information and monitor the decisions and actions of elected officials.

”Efforts to remove public notice requirements give elected officials opportunities to obscure their actions,” Thompson said. “State lawmakers should focus on improving transparency — by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act, expanding it to cover the governor and Legislature, and protecting public notices — not making it worse. Until transparency becomes a genuine priority in Lansing, the outlook for open government in Michigan will remain cloudy.”