It's time to pass FOIA reforms
It feels like our politics are more divided than ever. But if you listen closely to what residents on both the left and right are saying, there is a common theme: A demand for a more transparent and accountable government.
Our legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in Michigan achieves just that.
Through FOIA, the public can request the behind-the-scenes documents – emails, memos, agendas, schedules, and more – from their city or township hall, their school district, county officials, and state departments to better understand how the government decisions that impact them are made.
Who did your mayor meet with? What did your school board members send to each other? Did the county follow through on the issue you brought up? Residents can find all of that out through FOIA.
But shockingly, Michigan's law does not subject our governor and state legislators to those same record requests, thereby blocking the public from seeing the inner workings of our State Capitol Building.
All 50 states have FOIA, but Michigan is nearly alone in the country with those outrageous and glaring exemptions for the executive and lawmakers. This contributes to why our state ranks worst in the country in government ethics. When state government officials operate in the dark, scandals in Lansing continue to persist.
Nearly a decade ago, as representatives in the Michigan House – a Democrat from metro-Detroit and a Republican from the Upper Peninsula – we joined together to introduce legislation that finally includes the governor's office and legislature in Michigan's FOIA to bring sunshine to state government.
Our bills passed in the House, but the Senate refused to take it up. Then we were both elected to the Senate, where we passed our legislation last year, but the House wouldn't move on it.
This year, we introduced our legislation as the very first bills of the new session: Senate Bills 1 and 2. They passed overwhelmingly in January and were swiftly sent over to the House, where they currently sit.
It's past time for the full legislature – Republicans and Democrats – to come together to act on these bills. The public should not have to wait any longer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
16 minutes ago
- CNBC
Elon Musk must face lawsuit claiming he ran illegal $1 million election lottery
Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to face a lawsuit by voters accusing the world's richest person of defrauding them into signing a petition to support the U.S. Constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas said Jacqueline McAferty plausibly alleged in her proposed class action that Musk and his political action committee America PAC wrongly induced her to provide personal identifying information as part of the giveaway, late in the 2024 election campaign. Lawyers for Musk and America PAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk founded America PAC to support Republican Donald Trump's successful 2024 presidential run. McAferty, an Arizona resident, said Musk and America PAC induced voters in seven battleground states to sign his petition by promising that $1 million recipients would be chosen randomly, as in a lottery, though the voters had no real chance to collect. She said voters who signed were also required to provide names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. In seeking a dismissal, Musk listed several "red flags" as proof he had not run an illegal lottery. He said these included statements that the $1 million recipients were "selected to earn" the money and expected to become America PAC spokespeople, defeating the idea that the payment was a "prize." But the judge cited other statements suggesting the defendants were "awarding" the $1 million, and the money could be "won." "It is plausible that plaintiff justifiably relied on those statements to believe that defendants were objectively offering her the chance to enter a random lottery--even if that is not what they subjectively intended to do," Pitman wrote. The judge was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama in 2014. Musk had also rejected the suggestion that petition signers suffered harm by providing contact information. Pitman said an expert in political data brokerage could testify what that information was worth for voters in battleground states. The lawsuit was filed on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. A day earlier, a Philadelphia judge refused to end Musk's giveaway, saying that city's top prosecutor failed to show it was an illegal lottery. Musk is a Texas resident, and his electric car company Tesla TSLA.O is based in Austin. The case is McAferty v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-01346.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Rep. Meuser backs Garrity for Governor
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Dan Meuser is throwing his support behind the Republican challenger for Governor. Meuser endorsed Stacy Garrity on Thursday, calling her 'the patriot and fighter Pennsylvania needs as our next Governor.' Garrity officially entered the 2026 race for Pennsylvania Governor on Monday. The twice-elected State Treasurer had been teasing a run against incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro for some time now. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'She is a proven winner, and I am proud to endorse Stacy Garrity as a true America First conservative for Governor,' Meuser said. 'Our commonwealth desperately needs new leadership.' If elected, Garrity would be Pennsylvania's first female governor and the first governor with military experience since Governor Tom Corbett (2005-11). A native of Athens, Bradford County, Garrity served in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Colonel and is the former Vice President of Global Tungsten and Powders Corp. in Bradford County. Garrity entered the world of politics in 2020 with a run for Treasurer in which she narrowly defeated incumbent Treasurer Joe Torsella (D) by less than 1%. Her upset victory as a political newcomer came the same year Josh Shapiro (D) won the Attorney General's race by more than four points. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Shake Shack, Sweetgreen and Cava are flashing warning lights for the US economy
As President Donald Trump's aggressive policies on international trade and immigration gradually begin to make their presence felt, the underwhelming recent earnings results reported by some key casual food businesses are serving as flashing warning lights for the U.S. economy. Shake Shack shares tumbled 7.7 percent in response to its second-quarter results, despite their being generally positive. In comparison, Sweetgreen shares dropped 23 percent after it cut its 2025 outlook for the second consecutive quarter, and Cava's quarterly revenue disappointed estimates because of weaker-than-expected sales growth. Bloomberg columnist Connor Sen has argued that the headwinds being faced by those brands are uniquely significant because their restaurants are more likely to be based in metropolitan centers along the west and east coasts of the United States, which are likely to bear the brunt of the president's policies first. Shake Shack, for instance, has 80 of its 610 U.S. locations in New York, while one-third of Sweetgreen's branches are in New York and California, and Cava is based in D.C., which, along with Maryland and Virginia, accounts for 17 percent of its business, according to Bloomberg. Their exposure to 'critical coastal metro areas that are immigration hubs and popular international tourism destinations' contrasts with rival eateries such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Texas Roadhouse, which more typically cater to middle American diners across a wider geographic spread and have not yet suffered an equivalent financial setback. Sen points out that New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – three of America's biggest cities, all coastal and Democrat-governed – suffered a combined 43,000 job losses in the first six months of the year, a period when the U.S. as a whole added 500,000. Over the same half-year stretch, those three locations plus Washington, D.C, saw a combined reduction in their workforces of 60,000 people, after experiencing a 160,000 increase in 2024, a phenomenon that might very reasonably be attributed to Trump's immigration crackdown. Meanwhile, New York City Tourism + Conventions has said it expects to see a 17 percent fall in international visitors this year, and Visit California is forecasting a 9.2 percent fall in arrivals, as travellers from overseas register their disapproval of Trump's administration by vacationing elsewhere. Those factors conspire to leave businesses dependent on America's coastal cities facing a smaller pool of potential customers. Furthermore, those who remain appear to be less likely to spend their disposable income, meaning a reduced likelihood of their treating themselves to a meal out. The latter point is made by a preliminary study of consumer sentiment carried out by the University of Michigan, which found left-leaning voters much less likely to spend freely in August than their Republican counterparts. While economists might traditionally look at the stock market or the unemployment rate to gauge the health of a nation's bank balance, the well-being of brands like Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, and Cava can be equally revealing, primarily by exposing regional disparities. Other surprisingly telling indicators of an economic downturn or coming recession might include declining sales of men's underwear, reduced sales of inessential goods like snacks and cigarettes in grocery stores, or, conversely, a rise in the sales of miniature bottles of alcohol, which might signal increased consumer stress. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
