My amendment would simply require that the appointment of the FOIA coordinator be a bipartisan decision. It would ensure the process is fair and transparent, removing any accusation that the coordinator is acting in a biased or politically motivated fashion. I ask for a “yes” vote on my amendment.
Senator Nesbitt’s second statement is as follows:
My colleague on the other side of the aisle and also my colleague from the U.P. are right: this has been a long time coming. I was in the House as floor leader eight years ago when this passed the House—or something similar, I know there’s been more work done on it—but I’d like to thank both the sponsors for their commitment to this effort. However, this bill package has run into silent opposition along the way on both sides of the aisle. We saw that about a year and a half ago, but now it seems we will finally deliver the transparency that our citizenry does deserve.
While I do have serious concerns with certain aspects of this proposal, passing these bills I believe is more important at this time. My hope is that we can continue to still work on these issues in this session because I do believe we need to let a little more sunshine in, a little more disinfectant to happen, that’s a good thing. I look forward to making future reforms to ensure this proposal is not weaponized in a partisan fashion and is allowed to operate free of bias. I encourage my colleagues for a “yes” vote on these bills.
Senator Singh moved that the Senate proceed to consideration of the following bill:
House Bill No. 5737
The motion prevailed.
The following bill was read a third time:
House Bill No. 5737, entitled
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled “Natural resources and environmental protection act,” by amending sections 43517 and 43520 (MCL 324.43517 and 324.43520), section 43517 as amended by 2018 PA 399 and section 43520 as amended by 2018 PA 4.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: