[nfbmi-talk] sounds familiar abuse of foia

[joe harcz Comcast]

State denies FOIA request on budget | Lansing State Journal | lansingstatejournal.com

Gov. Rick Snyder's administration has rejected a Freedom of Information Act request to release documents outlining potential budget cuts and layoffs in

state government.

 

On Friday, the Lansing State Journal received a mailed response to its original request, dated Aug. 16, stating the administration was refusing to provide

the information under an exemption in the state act.

 

The law requires Michigan public bodies to make its records accessible to the public, unless they are specifically exempted under the law.

 

The State Journal was seeking copies of contingency plans that state department budget officers submitted to John Nixon, the state budget director, on or

before Aug. 12. The plans, which included some employee layoffs, were proposals to slash $145 million in general fund spending if the state did not negotiate

concessions with state employees for the budget year starting Oct. 1.

 

That $145 million concession target has not yet been reached.

 

In a letter dated Sept. 14, Gary Buckberry, FOIA coordinator for the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said the budget proposals were

being withheld because they are "notes within a public body" of an advisory nature that precede a final agency decision.

 

"This exemption does not apply unless the public body shows that in the particular instance the public interest in encouraging frank communication between

officials and employees of public bodies clearly outweighs the interest in disclosure," wrote Buckberry, citing the state exemption.

 

Buckberry continued that the state budget director's ability to use "discretion" while engaging in frank communication with state agencies justified the

denial of the State Journal's request.

 

The State Journal plans to appeal the rejection to Nixon.

 

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110917/NEWS04/109170321/State-denies-FOIA-request-budget?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CLocal%20News%7Cs