Michigan's FOIA problems and the solution

Pending bills to amend FOIA in Michigan would do little more than apply a few flimsy patches to an antiquated, tattered statute long overdue for a major overhaul.

The Michigan statute mandating public access to government records is flawed because it requires that written requests be made to an agency official with the de facto power to deny, delay or overprice the record requested.

Support FOIA reform that provides greater transparency through application of the latest records search technology, enabling information seekers to obtain records directly, i.e. without the assistance (or obstruction) of a government gatekeeper.

Many public officials, especially at the local level, complain about the cost and inconvenience of responding to FOIA requests. What those officials overlook (or hope we will overlook) is that, upon making a relatively small investment in software, most public records can be made available without cost or inconvenience simply by posting all non-exempt records online in searchable archives the moment they are created or acquired.

I suspect that it's not cost and inconvenience that raises the ire of some public officials so much as the fear that open access to government records will reveal foolishness, incompetence, wastefulness and crime. Perhaps an air of superiority and a sense of entitlement on the part of some public "servants" add to their aggravation.

The City of South Bend, Indiana, assisted by the Sunlight Foundation, has established a gold standard in transparency. It has enabled free, easy and direct public access to a remarkable catalog of city records.

This could be a model for open government, both at the local level and in state agencies. Take a close look at this outstanding achievement. It's worth considering for application across Michigan and throughout the country.

South Bend: Gold Standard in Transparency

The City of South Bend, Indiana, assisted by the Sunlight Foundation, has enabled free, easy and direct public access to a remarkable catalog of city records.   

By its mayor’s executive order last month (August, 2013), South Bend created an open data portal online.

South Bend’s policy implements and expands concepts in Indiana’s open records statutes.

This advance makes an extremely wide (and still expanding) range of information available in a user-friendly format.  It refrains from exemptions common in other jurisdictions.  The executive order also specifies the nature of the technology to be employed. 

The city’s IT specialists are directed to apply “best practices.”  The format is required to be “...any widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent, machine-readable method...”

The city’s announcement quoted the software vendor (in part), “South Bend is joining an elite group of open data pioneers who are using the latest technologies to make public data more accessible and streamline collaboration between internal departments.”

This could be a model for open government everywhere, both at the local level and in state agencies.  Take a close look at this outstanding achievement.   I think it's worth endorsing for adoption throughout the country.

https://data.southbendin.gov/

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/29/south-bend-indiana-signs-open-data-policy/