LANSING — State Rep. John Cherry (D-Flint) introduced House Bill 4148 yesterday to increase government transparency by requiring state rule-making boards and commissions to produce recordings of all meetings. Administrative rules have the full force of law and affect residents across the state. While legislative proceedings are recorded, there is no requirement that boards and commissions produce recordings of their proceedings. This bill would require audio or video recording of board proceedings and posting of those recordings to state agency websites.
“Michigan has consistently ranked last in the nation when it comes to government transparency and ethics,” said Cherry. “I believe that there is currently a desire across both branches of government and both parties to increase transparency in our government. This is a simple, commonsense step that we can take to increase citizen access to the decisions being made by government officials every day and I am happy to have co-sponsors from both parties for this legislation.”
After its introduction, HB 4148 was referred to committee for further review and consideration.
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