Democrats in Michigan are calling on the governor, the Attorney General and the legislature to require the governor’s office and the legislature to be subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Current law exempts the governor, and a 30 year old Attorney General’s opinion exempts state lawmakers. In recent years, the minority party in the legislature, in this case it’s the Democrats, have pushed unsuccessfully to repeal the exemptions. State House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel says Michigan residents may have found out a lot sooner about inside communications regarding the Flint water crisis, if the exemptions were not in effect. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillion also says repealing the exemption will mean internal memos will also be subject to the act, not just emails. Michigan ranked last in the nation for transparency, in a recent analysis.
