The Flint water issue has brought new attention to transparency in Michigan Government. Requests for Governor Snyder's emails on this issue were brought by Michigan media outlets. While the Governor released some, but not all, of his emails he did so voluntarily because under Michigan law he is not required to do so. It was an excellent reaction by him to release them voluntarily even though he was not legally required to do so.
This has brought new attention to our state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
I was working in the legislature during the late 70s when these two laws were written (yes I am that old). The only way there were enough votes in the legislature and to avoid a gubernatorial veto was to exempt the Governor's office, the entire legislature and the Judiciary from FOIA and OMA. Also exempted by Michigan Supreme Court opinion are public universities and their governing bodies--boards of trustees.
Now in 2016 when transparency in government is a high priority for voters it seems like it is time for a statutory review and some amending of both of the public acts. We have a very important citizen organization giving Michigan a grade of "F" for its transparency in government. Take a look--this is an interesting op ed piece from Bridge online magazine.
http://bridgemi.com/2016/01/michigan-earns-f-for-transparency-while-legislature-helps-it-stay-there/