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Sec. 12.[*]
The provisions of this act may not be suspended in a declared state of disaster or declared state of emergency as provided by the Emergency Management Act of 1976.
[*] This would insert a new section into Michigan’s FOIA law which currently does not contain a section 12.
Comment
MCL § 15.242: This addition prevents FOIA from being suspended in a time of a declared emergency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the suspension of FOIA made it impossible to obtain public records. Worse still, some public bodies relied on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s initial suspension of FOIA as a justification for continued noncompliance with FOIA long after that suspension was lifted. During an emergency, Michigan’s citizens need more access to information, not less.
