It’s Sunshine Week and Governor Gretchen Whitmer is hiding things from you. A lot of things, it turns out.
The Freedom Fund’s own Greg McNeilly took to the pages of the Detroit News this week to point out this lack of transparency and offer a few important suggestions on how the state legislature might fight back to protect your right to know:
Before March is out, the House and Senate should pass and send to the governor’s desk at least four key transparency reforms.
They should pass legislation expanding FOIA to the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor.
They should pass legislation expanding FOIA to every member and office in the state Legislature.
They should immediately outlaw non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements for public and taxpayer-funded officials, elected officials and staff.
There’s reason to hope. We sat down with Sen. Ed McBroom, chair of the Senate Oversight Committee, and Rep. Steve Johnson, chair of the House Oversight Committee, to talk about these issues and more on our podcast, “In the Trenches.”
There’s bipartisan support for transparency and open government. Seize the moment and contact your legislators. Urge them to support these critical reforms, and send them to Gov. Whitmer’s desk.
Let the sunshine in!
Sincerely,
Tony Daunt
Executive Director
Michigan Freedom Fund
