The drumbeat pushing the state Senate to approve the Legislative Open Records Act has begun. One of the opening salvos came from Mlive.com in an editorial headlined: “State Senate needs to heed House’s call for a more transparent government”. Michigan
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Michael Reitz elected president of MiCOG
Michael Reitz, executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, was elected president of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government at the volunteer group’s board meeting September 22. “Good government is open government,” said Reitz. “The people of
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House passes Legislative Open Records Act
Michigan’s House of Representative on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed the Legislative Open Records Act that amends and expands the state’s FOIA to correct omissions that have made Michigan an outlier among other states across the nation. Under the proposed legislation (HB
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Expand, not limit, access to public information in Michigan
This column by Michigan Coalition for Open Government President Jane Briggs-Bunting appeared in the March 28 print edition of Crain’s Detroit Business. Flint’s water crisis might not have hit the national news until late 2015, but using the state’s Freedom of
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FOIA audit results of Michigan’s 15 public universities by CMU SPJ students
Kudos to the members of the Central Michigan University Society of Professional Journalists chapter for their public records audit of Michigan’s 15 public universities. The results were shared in a guest column in Bridge this week. The students asked for
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Michigan Senate Committee approves Student Press Rights bill
It’s a first step 28 years in the making. On Tuesday, the state senate’s Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to support SB 848 the Student Free Press and Civics Readiness Act. The bill, co-sponsored by three Republicans and one Democrat, was introduced
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House introduces 10 bills to include legislators in amended FOIA
Celebrating FOI day, 37 Republic and Democratic state house members Wednesday introduced 10 bills to amend the state’s FOI law, expanding it to include the Legislative branch. A 1988 state Attorney General’s Opinion had exempted the Legislature. HB 5469-5478 would
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Help make FOIA stronger, make Sunshine Week last all year
Welcome to National Sunshine Week. The Michigan Coalition for Open Government board has worked hard to get the word out about the importance of FOIA to all of the state’s citizens. Opinion columns have run in the Detroit Free Press, The
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CNN gets FOI fee waiver from Michigan Health Dept.
The Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services wanted to charge CNN a hefty Freedom of Information fee of $11,071 to locate and review emails and documents from state officials on the Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak in Flint likely linked to the
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MiCOG weighs in on FOIA impact in Flint
Listen to MiCOG board member and former Detroit Free Press columnist Ron Dzonkowski interview on WKAR radio about FOIA as it relates to the Flint water crisis. Michigan earned an F and was ranked dead last for transparency in the 2015
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