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
Read More
FOIA and the Anatomy of the Flint water story
Read the timely article about the efforts of Flint Journal reporter Ron Fonger who covered the Flint water crisis from almost the first drop. http://bit.ly/1OVKpZi. Using his sources and the state Freedom of Information Act, Fonger exposed the crisis as it
Read More
Ten Dems seek to add Gov and Legislators to state FOIA
Kudos to ten Democratic Michigan state senators for introducing SB 716 Thursday (January 21, 2016) that would amend the state Freedom of Information Act to include the Governor and the Legislature. This is a step towards addressing one of the
Read More
ESPN prevails in FOIA dispute with MSU
Michigan’s Supreme Court in late December rejected an appeal request by Michigan State University in a lawsuit filed against the school by ESPN to block access under the state Freedom of Information Law to names of athletes and former athletes
Read More
Appeals court must decide if MCCA is public, subject to FOIA
State Supreme Court rules Michigan’s Constitution requires if one law modifies another, that other law must be amended, too. Michigan’s high court on Friday reversed a Court of Appeals ruling and ordered that lower court to determine if the legislatively
Read More
House Judiciary Committee considers bill to exempt police body cam recordings from FOIA
MiCOG has grave concerns about proposed substitute HB 4234, known as the Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Privacy Act.” Our suggestions for change and comments were submitted in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in advance of its scheduled hearing
Read More
NFOIC and SPJ join effort to defray legal costs of FOI suits
NFOIC and SPJ combine war chests to fight for Freedom of Information. The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Freedom of Information Coalition are joining forces – and legal war chests – to help citizens and journalists fight for
Read More
MiCOG Op-Eds support Sunshine Week
Sunshine Week OpEds by MiCOG board members Charles Hill and Garry Gilbert ran in newspapers and on news sites across Michigan. Thanks to the excellent, persuasive writing of MiCOG board members Charles Hill and Garry Gilbert, a lot of readers
Read More
Michigan Sunshine Week Update
Sunshine and warmer temperatures (at last) may be sweeping across the state, but there’s still plenty of work to do to ensure Michigan’s citizens get more transparency and accountability from their state and local governments, school districts, public universities and
Read More
Mackinac Center files FOI suit against Liquor Control Commission
Kudos, again, to the Mackinac Center for its ongoing efforts to make public records accessible and affordable not only to the Center itself but to the people of Michigan. This time the abusive public body is the Michigan Liquor Control
Read More