During the March 14 meeting of the
Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Kristen Nelson
(D-Waterford) introduced a resolution supporting two bills that will soon be
considered by the Michigan Senate.
Currently, Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) sets procedures for citizens to request information from public bodies and standards for how those bodies must respond. The state’s Legislature and the governor's office are currently excluded from this, and the proposed legislation would require these public bodies to comply with the state’s existing FOIA law.
Currently, Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) sets procedures for citizens to request information from public bodies and standards for how those bodies must respond. The state’s Legislature and the governor's office are currently excluded from this, and the proposed legislation would require these public bodies to comply with the state’s existing FOIA law.
“The Freedom of Information Act protects all of our rights as citizens to monitor government agencies and hold them accountable,” Nelson said. “I applaud Senator Moss for his leadership on this important legislation to expand the law to include our state government leaders.”
State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D) and Sen. Ed McBroom (R) introduced Senate Bills 669-670 late last year to help bring greater transparency to state government. The bills propose several unique exemptions for the governor's office, which would not be required to disclose records related to executive office security, internal investigations, prisoner commutation decisions, initial budget recommendations and pending appointment or firing decisions.
Additionally, neither the governor nor
lawmakers would be required to disclose communications with constituents,
unless those constituents were registered lobbyists.
Nelson represents Oakland County District 10, which includes the cities of Keego Harbor and Sylvan Lake, portions of Waterford and West Bloomfield townships, and portions of the City of Pontiac.
For additional information about the Board of Commissioners, visit www.oakgov.com/boc or call 248-858-0100.
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