Press Release
Contact:
Matt Bach
Director of Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317; C: (810) 874-1073
[email protected]; www.mml.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 6, 2020
Michigan Municipal League Thanks Governor Whitmer for FOIA Deadline Executive Order
The following can be attributed to Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League:
Members of the Michigan Municipal League remain committed to transparency and providing full information to the public through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but agree fully with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-38. This executive order gives additional flexibility in responding to FOIA requests during the COVID-19 shutdown, which has affected many municipal government operations and employees
The new order, aimed at protecting the public health of workers as well as those who are seeking information, provides that deadlines for responding to a FOIA request doesn’t start until an employee actually opens the envelope or removes from the fax machine a request or an appeal. It also defers the start of deadlines for those who wish to review records in person. In addition, the order allows local governments to defer providing information from records that may not be accessible online by workers who are working remotely.
We thank Governor Whitmer for these modest changes to the state’s important public records acts and commit to returning to full compliance with the act when the Executive Orders are lifted.
For additional information contact Matt Bach, communications director for the Michigan Municipal League, at 810-874-1073 and [email protected].
About the League: Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.