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Political Hors D'oeuvres: Courser, Gamrat Affair Reveals Larger Policy Concern

Hey! Hey you! Wanna see the pages and pages of documents amassed by the Michigan House Business Office during its investigation into whether or not Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, abused public resources to cover up their illicit affair?
Want to hear the hours of audio secretly recorded by a former staffer?
How's it feel to want? That's what Republican Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter wants you to understand. The Michigan Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, exempted itself from the Freedom of Information Act when the law was adopted in 1976. The law was one of many that swept the nation post-Watergate.
And Cotter, whom some of the former Courser-Gamrat staffers have said was aware of what was happening in the family-values lawmakers' offices from the beginning, may have a reason to keep the documents secret. Democrats and others are asking the infamous political scandal question, "What did he know and when did he know it?" That might be a question Cotter would rather avoid discussing. Particularly as the Legislature comes into session again, and a special investigative committee begins the process that might lead to the duo's expulsion.
Wondering what Gov. Rick Snyder thinks about this whole thing? Yeah, it'd be nice to see those emails, but his office is also exempt from FOIA. He has not weighed in on the sex scandal or allegations that the tea party conservatives abused their offices.
FOIA is a transparency tool. It was designed to allow citizens to spread some sunshine on government operations to prevent another Watergate-era abuse of government. It was designed to keep the citizenry fully informed on what is happening in government.
The preamble of the act is pretty clear about its goals:
"It is the public policy of this state that all persons, except those persons incarcerated in state or local correctional facilities, are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees, consistent with this act. The people shall be informed so that they may fully participate in the democratic process."
This scandal is exactly when FOIA as a tool is most important. Voters have a right to know if Cotter knew about the affair between the two lawmakers and what he knew about allegations of the misuse of public resources. The public has a right to know what Snyder is doing behind the scenes to prevent the Legislature from being bogged down for weeks in the process of expelling the two.
There have been attempts to amend the law for years. This time around, Rep. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, has introduced legislation to amend the law to include the Legislature. That's a good thing.
Right now, Michigan law is allowing the governor and Republican leaders to secretly frame the outcomes and minimize the impact of the scandal — a scandal which might even taint the top GOP leaders in the state. That means citizens don't have the information they want and need to "be informed so that they may fully participate in the democratic process."

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