Michigan lawmaker wants FOIA exemption for lawmakers, Gov. removed

 

A Michigan lawmaker is renewing a push to subject the state legislature and governor's office to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

This comes the same week the House Business Office released a summary of its findings on the recent sex scandal involving representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat.

The full report hasn't yet been made available to the public.

Rep. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) said the decision to keep it under wraps is "the perfect example" of why Michigan's executive and legislative branches shouldn't be exempt from FOIA requests.

"Any citizen who pays taxes in our state has a right to know what those taxpayer dollars are used for and what documents they can access to see how our government works," Moss said.

Moss said "it's shameful" that Michigan is one of only two states to include the exemption.

"The fact that somebody can get information on how their city or township or village is running but... (not) at the state level makes no sense," he said.

Moss co-sponsored legislation to remove the exemptions when Michigan Democratic Chairman Brandon Dillon first introduced it last March.

The bill is currently stalled in the Government Operations Committee.

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