Newest Michigan freedom of information bills likely to fail

Michigan is one of the only states that does not subject the governor’s office and state Legislature to Freedom of Information Act requests and bills have repeatedly been proposed to change that. But most legislation is getting a cool reception from key lawmakers.

The state Freedom of Information Act allows Michiganders to file requests for public information from state and local governments, as well as other public bodies. But the governor’s office and the Legislature are currently exempt from the law. State Reps. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, and Erin Byrnes, D-Dearborn, introduced legislation on Aug. 27 to bring FOIA requirements to those two entities.

The legislation, House bills 6299 and 6300, if passed by the House and Senate and signed into law, would require the Michigan Legislature and governor’s office to comply with the state’s existing FOIA law. This could be significant as it would allow residents to file records requests seeking documents explaining how lawmakers craft the annual budget. Initial gross appropriations for fiscal year 2025-26 reached about $76 billion, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.

The bill sponsors said Michiganders should have access to records handled by the Legislature and governor.

“After serving two terms on the Grand Traverse County Commission, where I was subject to FOIA and was FOIA-ed many times, I find it shocking that Michigan remains one of only two states in the country that still exempt the governor’s office and state Legislature from FOIA requirements,” Coffia said in a statement. “It is long overdue that we expand FOIA to include those of us who are responsible for passing laws that over 10 million people must live by and overseeing a state budget of over $80 billion in taxpayer funds.”

House Speaker Matt Hall, however, doesn’t plan to take up the bills, Christina Doerr, deputy director of House Republican Communications, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email. The speaker has tamped down expectations of a FOIA expansion through much of this year, saying it should be part of a larger ethics and transparency reform package.

Hall’s transparency goals center on a “Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency” plan, or HEAT, which includes disclosure of earmarks before state budget votes and a two-year ban on lawmakers becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office. Although he has long supported disclosure reform, the speaker has criticized several FOIA bills, including legislation that passed the state Senate in January.

In an email to CapCon, Hall also expressed doubts about the Democratic legislators’ commitment to transparency.

“It’s hard to take their calls for transparency and ethics seriously when they don’t practice what they preach,” Hall wrote. “Rep. Coffia left the chamber when she had the opportunity to vote to get money out of politics, and Rep. Byrnes voted no. If they were serious about transparency and ethics, they would have shown it when they had the chance.” The Michigan House recently passed a citizens initiative “Money Out of Politics” (MOP UP) which was not supported by Coffia, Byrnes or Senate Democrats, meaning the initiative was not adopted by lawmakers and will instead appear on the November ballot.

Gov. Whitmer, who pledged to subject the executive and legislative branches to FOIA in her 2018 gubernatorial campaign, has also raised objections to specific FOIA packages, saying they apply varying standards in legislative and executive disclosure rules. Enacted in 1976, Michigan’s FOIA law remains one of the few in the nation that exempts state lawmakers and the governor’s office from being subject to public records requests.

“Michigan continues to rank as one of the worst states in the country for government integrity and transparency, so it is obvious that something must change,” Byrnes said in a statement. “These bills would bring greater transparency to the legislature and help keep Michiganders informed about how decisions are made in Lansing. This is about being transparent and accountable to those we serve — it’s something every elected official should support. I am proud to be a vocal supporter on this issue.”