I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The ACLU of Michigan has filed a series of Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information about the passage of a bill that allows the state to appoint Emergency Financial Managers with nearly dictatorial powers to oversee municipalities and school districts.
The FOIA requests, ironically, seek in part to determine what role, if any, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy played in shaping the legislation. The Mackinac Center has filed its own controversial FOIA requests seeking emails from professors in labor studies departments at Michigan’s three major public universities.
Today’s FOIA requests seek to understand the intent of the law, the scope of authority and oversight, the implications for cities and school districts that currently employ financial managers and the involvement of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in drafting the legislation.
Specifically, the ACLU of Michigan requested the following information:
The Michigan Department of Treasury was asked to provide detailed information on the list of current emergency financial managers, including the basis for selection and their professional experience.
In addition, the Department of Treasury was asked for materials related to their supervision and trainings, including a schedule of past and future training sessions. The Department of Treasury was also asked for information related to contracts and compensation and any correspondence between emergency financial managers and the department since September 2010.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Flanagan was asked for similar information and was additionally asked to produce materials that discuss the level of financial stress experienced by any school district in Michigan.
State appointed emergency financial managers in 3 cities – Ecorse, Pontiac and Benton Harbor – were asked for materials related to their scope of work and authority. Although they were appointed long before the law passed, the sweeping changes will apply retroactively.
In addition, the ACLU requested information from the Detroit Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education regarding Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb’s plan to close schools and increase class sizes in Detroit, which will have a detrimental effect on the quality of education.
Legislators who sponsored the bills were asked for materials regarding the drafting of the legislation, influence of lobbyists and private entities and contacts with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Each FOIA request also sought information about communications with any member of the Executive Branch, including with Governor Snyder’s office.
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