Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

Michigan official wants governor, lawmakers subject to FOIA

Debate and discussion of current events and political issues in the State of Michigan. Be forewarned -- this forum is NOT for the intellectually weak or those of you with thin skins. Don't come crying to me if you become the subject of ridicule. **Board Administrator reserves the right to revoke posting privileges based on my sole discretion**
User avatar
TC Talks
Posts: 10100
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:41 am

Michigan official wants governor, lawmakers subject to FOIA

Post by TC Talks » Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:34 am

We could finally have Sunshine in our state Government. Wonder who is funding all they wacko Republicans? We could soon find out.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s secretary of state is aiming to have Michigan join most of the rest of the country in expanding public information requests to the governor and Legislature, she announced during a news conference Monday.

Kicking off Sunshine Week by laying out a government transparency plan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson asked the Legislature to take up the measures. Michigan is one of two states that exempts the governor’s office from Freedom of Information Act requests and is one of eight states that exempt elected legislators.

“All of the measures are national best practices that voters on both sides of the aisle want, and they provide an an excellent opportunity for lawmakers to affirm public faith in our democracy as so many have claimed they want to do,” Benson said. “For these reasons, I’m hopeful that the state Legislature does advance these proposals this year, and that they do so in earnest.”

Sunshine Week is an annual focus on press freedoms and the fight for government transparency.

Michigan has had longstanding issues with public trust in elected officials. It ranked dead last in accountability and transparency in a 2015 assessment from The Center for Public Integrity.

Even if lawmakers don’t take up changing Freedom of Information Act rules, some Michigan residents are mobilizing. The liberal advocacy group Progress Michigan announced at the beginning of March that it would launch a 2022 ballot drive to expand FOIA requirements to the governor and lawmakers. They would need about 425,000 signatures to propose a constitutional amendment that would appear on the November 2022 ballot. They would need to collect about 340,000 valid voter signatures to initiate legislation that would go to legislators who could enact the bill into law or let it go to voters in November 2022.

If Progress Michigan won certification for an initiated measure, it would go the legislators. They could enact the bill into law or let it go to voters in November 2022. If the group successfully pursued a constitutional amendment, it would automatically be placed on the ballot.

To shine a light on dark money, Benson called for the state to require all political action committees, Super PACs and 527 committees to report their expenses and require reporting by indirect political campaigns.

Benson said she wants to ensure foreign money doesn’t influence elections and called for the ban on such funds to extend past just Super PACs.

There ought to be a two-year period between state legislators leaving office and working as a lobbyists, Benson said, adding that companies and their owners should be banned from making political contributions if they receive state grants.

Benson noted that lawmakers are already making moves this legislative session to improve public trust.

Grand Rapids Rep. David LeGrand is sponsoring a bill that would require a two-year waiting period before they lobby after leaving office and another bill with dozens of bipartisan co-sponsors that would require elected officials to submit a financial disclosure report.


“The more you can increase fear of drugs, crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.”
― Noam Chomsky

Posting Content © 2024 TC Talks Holdings LP.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic