Our government can only work when the public is able to stay informed and able to hold their leaders accountable. That is where the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) comes in – allowing people to ask the government for records about its actions. 

However, Michigan’s current FOIA laws are not strong enough. As a matter of fact, Michigan has consistently ranked in the bottom 5 states for ethics and transparency. 

Michiganders deserve better. 

There are many examples of FOIA not working in Michigan, from government agencies making it difficult to get important information to high fees for the requests – agencies taking months to respond to denying FOIA requests without good reason.

• Recently, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation sued the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), where it is alleged that their FOIA requests were repeatedly redirected or ignored for more than a year.
• In 2022, it was reported that parents in Rochester were billed $173,000 for a FOIA request to their school district to release information that was collected about them individually.

A major gap

Michigan’s Executive Office of the Governor and state legislators are currently exempt from FOIA laws. This means that their communications and records can’t be accessed through public record requests. Michigan is one of only two states where this is the case.

• In 2019, when a FOIA request was made for the Governor’s office communications regarding the Flint water crisis, the records were denied because the governor’s office is currently exempt under FOIA. 
• Former GOP House Speaker Rick Johnson was convicted for accepting bribes from lobbyists when he served as chairman of the former Michigan medical marijuana licensing board. This initially went unnoticed because of a loophole that was exploited to avoid financial interests being subjected to FOIA.

This lack of transparency makes it harder for both citizen watchdogs, journalists, and regular people to hold elected officials accountable for their decisions, and to flag conflicts of interest early on.

To make the government more open and transparent, Michigan needs stronger FOIA laws. This means quicker responses, fewer denials, and clearer rules for what information can be shared, including holding all public officials accountable, and it means ensuring that our elected officials and people in power are subject to FOIA.