BY RICK PLUTA
Michigan Public Radio Network
A pair of open government bills are up for an initial hearing this week in Lansing.
The legislation is a response to local governments and state agencies charging sometimes thousands of dollars for people to see government records. Critics, including media organizations, say hefty fees are too often used as a way to shield records from the public. One of the bills would limit most charges for requests filed under the state's Freedom of Information Act to no more than 10 cents a page. Another would create a Michigan Open Government Commission to hear challenges to government denials of information requests.
And the legislation would allow courts to award punitive damages of up to five thousand dollars if a government agency arbitrarily or capriciously denies a request for public records.
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