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State House passes bill to open governor’s office and Legislature to public record requests

Courtesy Michigan.gov

The Michigan House passed legislation today (THU) that would open the governor’s office and Legislature to public records requests. This is the fourth time the House has passed the bills, but the Republican-led Senate has not taken them up for a vote.

When running for Governor, Gretchen Whitmer pledged to increase transparency for the executive and legislative branches if she was elected.

Whitmer explains why she hasn’t issued that executive order.

“I think it's important that this isn't something that only applies to my administration but to future administrations and to the legislature as well," said Whitmer. "And so, in order to do this, right, we need to codify this into statute.”

Government transparency groups say the bills still don’t go far enough – especially when it comes to Freedom of Information Act requests.