Bipartisan legislation expanding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to include the executive office of the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the legislature was passed by the Senate this week.
Key Points:
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- Senate Bills 669 and 670 were introduced by Senator Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) and Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield).
- The two Senators have been working together to expand FOIA since 2015 when they were both serving in the House of Representatives.
- Michigan is one of the few states that exempts state lawmakers and the governor’s office from records requests.
- Current FOIA exemptions would be in place, in addition to exemptions for constituent communications and internal investigations, among others.
Next Steps:
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- The legislation was referred to the House Government Operations Committee for consideration.