[nfbmi-talk] bogus is bs for blind persons

[joe harcz Comcast]

This is a very familiar and very bogus argument used by BSBP and before that the Michigan Commission for the Blind. They used this same argument related to the 18 month extensive monitoring by RSA of just how they spent the federal dollars. They recently used this same argument to delay the submission of their State Plan supplement to RSA.

 

And they did that in spite of being apprised of case law like Bradlee v. Saranac Schools and others in which clearly the argument is as this attorney notes “bogus”.

 

 

Remember we were dealing with supposedly fact based information here. You kno things like how much BSBP spent and what for and little things like how many cases were opened; how many closed successfully, etc.

 

 

But, no BSBP and their masters at LARA make these simple factoids, and requirements of the Rehab Act some sort of state secret. It makes one wonder what the heck they are trying to hide.

 

One thing we do know is that BSBP failed its major standards and indicators last year in the Vocational Rehabilitation program alone. And we know especially on indicator number six that they failed minorities, particularly black males miserably. Facts are indeed facts. And I want nothing but factual information from BSBP.

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

Attorney: State's withholding of contract impasse documents 'totally bogus' By Kristen M. Daum kdaum at lsj.com As state officials and union leaders representing

more than 35,000 workers prepare for contract impasse hearings this week, the Civil Service Commission is refusing to release documents that outline each

side's position in the dispute. But a Detroit attorney and expert in Michigan's open records laws says it's "totally bogus" for the Civil Service Commission

to claim the legal exemption it's using to withhold the documents. The Lansing State Journal filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Nov. 4 asking

for position statements and briefs that were filed to the commission as part of the unions' and the Office of the State Employer's request for impasse

hearings. Because the unions and the state cannot agree on a contract, an impasse panel under the Civil Service Commission's direction will help them hash

out their disagreements. That process begins Wednesday with a series of closed-door hearings in Lansing. On Friday, the Civil Service Commission denied

the State Journal's request for the filings, citing an exemption in Michigan's FOI law that allows public bodies to withhold communications "of an advisory

nature to the extent that they cover other than purely factual materials and are preliminary to a final agency determination of policy or action. Herschel

Fink, general counsel for the Detroit Free Press, said it's "more than a stretch" for the commission to claim that exemption. "You're asking simply for

copies of pleadings in an adversary preceding, and those should be public," Fink said. "This one seems off the mark. Fink said there should be no concern

of either party revealing its negotiating strategy through the documents it filed, because those arguments have already been disclosed through the process

of requesting impasse. "They've already stated what their negotiation is in a pleading that they've filed for an adversary hearing," Fink said. While negotiators

on either side aren't saying much publicly, union officials have indicated that employee contributions' to health care benefits are central in this contract

dispute. Members of several state employee unions are planning to protest Wednesday morning outside the impasse hearings. About 50,000 people work for

the state of Michigan, and 71 percent are represented by a union. The five unions currently involved in contract negotiations with the state represent

90 percent of the unionized workforce within state government. Those unions are the UAW Local 6000, Michigan Corrections Organization, Michigan State Employees

Association, Michigan Public Employees and AFSCME Council 25.