In a wide-ranging, end of the year roundtable with reporters on Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she is “optimistic” about the upcoming legislative session with a new Democratic majority.
She spoke about a variety of issues, from embracing government transparency reform to supporting the idea of Michigan becoming an early voting state.
It has been four years of near-constant contention between the Democratic governor and the GOP-controlled Legislature. With the somewhat unexpected Democratic sweep of state elections on Nov. 8, Whitmer said she is now looking forward to a “much more productive session” but is remaining committed to bipartisanship.
“We anticipate that, by and large, most of what we will do will continue to be bipartisan. And I think that’s important,” she said.
With new Democratic leadership next year, what long-inert legislation will now pass?
On reforming state laws in favor of more government transparency, Whitmer said she is supportive of both expanding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and updating Michigan’s lobbying laws.
Currently in Michigan, both the executive office and the state Legislature are exempt from FOIA. Advocates have been looking to change this for years but have faced roadblocks from the Republican-led Senate.
“I did not trust the last Legislature to get done both pieces, and so that’s why we’re doing it in one fell swoop and we’re all going to play by the same rules,” Whitmer said.
There have been two main proposals floated to open the Legislature up to FOIA requests. One bipartisan measure sponsored by state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), would create the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA) that would be an offshoot of FOIA specifically for the Legislature.
The other proposal, supported by Progress Michigan, would enact the same FOIA standards to the Legislature as all other state departments and the executive branch.
Whitmer said Wednesday that she supports the latter option.
“A separate standard for the Legislature doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Whitmer said.
Michigan’s lobbying laws will also be looked at, Whitmer said, specifically as it relates to some of the loopholes that may have contributed to former House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) now being investigated for alleged financial crimes while in office.
Whitmer proposed reform to both FOIA and the lobbying act in 2018 but has yet to see either come to fruition with a GOP-controlled Legislature.
The Democrat said she is also considering a reorganization of state departments and agencies to “streamline” them, with the Liquor Control Commission, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) potentially being among them.
Whitmer had attempted early on to restructure EGLE, but was shut down by GOP lawmakers who opposed her efforts to get rid of what environmentalists called “polluter panels.” It marked the first time in more than 40 years that a Michigan Legislature had voted to reject a governor’s executive order.
“We are examining whether or not the early changes that we had hoped to make might still make sense,” Whitmer said Wednesday.
Despite the recent departure of former EGLE Director Liesl Clark, and mid-term departures of former state health chief Dr. Joneigh Khaldun and former Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Director Robert Gordon, Whitmer said her administration during the last four years has seen “extraordinary” stability.
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“The fact that we’ve held on to a full cabinet for that full first four years with all this stuff that we’ve had to navigate, I think was pretty remarkable,” she said.
Looking ahead to 2024, Whitmer also spoke about the “so bizarre” current system of allowing certain states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, to vote first in an election.
“Those states calling the field before the most diverse battleground state in the country even has an opportunity to weigh in has never made a whole lot of sense to me,” she said.
There has talk about Michigan becoming an early vote state in recent years, and a Democratic National Committee (DNC) panel voted earlier this month to make Michigan the fifth state to hold a nominating primary in 2024. The proposal will need to be greenlit by the full DNC in February to go into effect.
“I do think that Michiganders’ voices should be heard earlier in the process until we have a national primary, which is something I think ultimately we should have,” Whitmer said.
” … We’ve shown we are a microcosm of the nation, and what happens in Michigan impacts the whole country.”
authored by Laina G. Stebbins
First published at https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganadvance.com%2F2022%2F12%2F15%2Fwhitmer-looks-forward-to-restructuring-government-foia-reform-next-year%2F
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