LANSING, Mich. (Jan. 8, 2025) — On the opening day of the 103rd legislative session, Michigan Senate Democrats wasted no time in renewing bipartisan efforts to improve government transparency in Michigan. Leading the charge, Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) and Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Twp.) introduced Senate Bills 1 and 2 aimed at expanding the scope of the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to include the Michigan Legislature and governor.
“Michiganders deserve honest, ethical, and transparent representation in Lansing. For too long, however, the public has been blocked from accessing and understanding the inner workings of the Governor’s office and State Legislature. I have long fought to expand our state’s Freedom of Information Act, and today our Senate Democratic majority is placing government transparency among our top priorities,” Sen. Moss said. “Our chamber took action on this last term, and this session the entire Legislature must send these bills to the Governor to finally get this done.”
Michigan’s FOIA law is one of the few in the nation that exempts state lawmakers and the governor’s office from records requests since it was enacted in 1976. This significant gap in the law contributed to Michigan receiving an F in government integrity from the National Center for Public Integrity’s 2015 report, where the state ranked last overall — failing in 10 out of 13 categories — including public access to information, executive accountability, and legislative accountability.
“Michigan residents should be able to rely on an honest, transparent government that they can trust, but for far too long, our laws have fallen short of that standard,” said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids). “Lots of politicians say they are for more transparency, but few have been willing to act. We are again trying to turn a new page for our state where government accountability and transparency are the standard, not a privilege — the way it should be.”
Similar legislation passed by the Senate in the 102nd Legislature garnered widespread and bipartisan support from key stakeholders, including the Michigan Press Association, ACLU of Michigan, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. This diverse support — from groups that utilize FOIA the most — underscores this legislation’s potential impact on reshaping government institutions’ operations and changing the culture at the State Capitol to be more transparent, accountable, and responsive to the public.
Sens. Moss and McBroom began working on expanding FOIA as state representatives in 2015 when they successfully ushered the legislation through the Michigan House. The Michigan Senate, however, never passed FOIA legislation until last year.
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