The Legislature has begun debating a series of bills that would, for the first time, subject lawmakers and the governor to state transparency laws.

We call on lawmakers to make that debate speedy and to finally force our state officials to be transparent the way other government officials are transparent. We urge lawmakers to tailor those bills so that any exemptions to disclosure are narrow and well-defined and do not allow lawmakers and the governor to hide behind overly broad language in the law.

The Michigan Freedom of Information Act compels governments in the state to hand over public records to those who ask for them. Michiganders can obtain budget documents, emails, memos, personnel files, salary information, and a host of other documents by issuing a FOIA request to government officials.

The law, passed along with similar laws across the country and at the federal level in response to the Watergate scandal, allows Michiganders to find out what their elected officials working with taxpayer money are up to. FOIA requests have been used to out all kinds of corruption, to reveal everything from misuse of taxpayer funds to government nepotism to bad decisions by government officials.

In short, the law helps Michiganders know what’s happening in their government.

Except when it comes to the Legislature or the Governor’s Office.

Right now, Michigan is one of only two states that allow lawmakers and the chief executive to keep their documents secret.

That’s just plain wrong.

Lawmakers and the governor are the most powerful people in the state, and the public has a right to know what they’re up to. The public shouldn’t have to rely on lawmakers’ and the governor’s good nature to do so. The law should require transparency.

Proposals to subject the Legislature and Governor’s Office to transparency laws have been introduced and died on the vine for years in the statehouse.

It’s long past time for those proposals to become law.

We urge every Northeast Michigander to call their lawmakers — state Rep. Cam Cavitt can be reached at 517-373-0833 and state Sen. Michelle Hoitenga can be reached at 517-373-7946 — and urge them to help push the policy over the finish line.