LANSING — Today, House Bills 4007-4013 and 4015-4016 were passed unanimously by the House and now head to the Senate for consideration. The bipartisan package, which aims to increase accountability and address Michigan’s last-in-the-nation ranking for transparency in government, will open the governor’s office up to the Freedom of Information Act and subject the Legislature to a new Legislative Open Records Act. In response to its passage, state Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Township), sponsor of HB 4016, issued the following statement:
“We live in a world where so much knowledge is at our fingertips, yet the average person still can’t access basic information about how their state government operates or how their tax dollars are being spent. I was subject to open records laws while I was a teacher and when I served as a local Parks and Recreation Commissioner, but those same transparency measures aren’t in place for something as consequential as our state government. I look forward to this package moving quickly through the Senate and being signed into law so we can finally give Michiganders the tools they need to hold their government accountable.”