- Senate bills 669 and 670 look to open up the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA requests to the Executive office of the Governor and the legislature, giving the people the right to request certain information under the preview of an appointed official from the legislature leaders.
- This is the 5th time since 2015 state legislators have tried to pass such legislation in the statehouse.
State legislators are pushing for more governmental transparency to allow people in our neighbors to request their public records and some community advocates say that this could be the start of rebuilding a tough history in accountability.
“We have been last in transparency in the nation.”
A sobering statistic from the Center of Public Integrity.
With a deeper impact on our neighbors.
"For voters to make an informed decision, they need all of the facts and all of the information," Pigeon said.
Nicholas Pigeon is the executive director of Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
He wants our neighbors to have transparency when electing officials.
"Voters need to know that accountability mechanism is there, that people can get that information if it's available," Pigeon said.
WATCH INTERVIEW WITH NICHOLAS PIGEON OF MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE NETWORK
So the organization along with a bipartisan group of state Senators are looking to expand Freedom of Information Act laws.
Senate bills 669 and 670 look to open up FOIA requests to the Executive Office of the Governor and the legislature, giving the people the right to request certain information under the purview of an appointed official from the legislature leaders.
It would put Michigan in practice with 48 other states.
"It really comes down to holding our elected officials accountable for their actions. Not just what the policy is but how they came to create that policy," Billingsley said.
Melinda Billingsley and Voters not Politicians have been pushing for these bills to come into place for years.
WATCH INTERVIEW WITH MELINDA BILLINGSLEY WITH VOTERS NOT POLITICIANS
"If we want to maintain government trust here in the state of Michigan, we need to see these laws passed," Pigeon said.
The bill package has been referred to the House committee for consideration. This is the 5th pass of similar bills since 2015.
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