Whitmer signs bill to bar redistricting commission closed meetings under Open Meetings Act

Last edited Tue Dec 28, 2021, 04:49 AM - Edit history (1)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill into law Monday that bars Michigan's redistricting commission from meeting behind closed doors under the guise of the Open Meetings Act, the state law that allows public bodies to enter into closed session under certain circumstances.

Michigan lawmakers almost unanimously approved the legislation in early December. The bill made its way through the legislative process shortly after Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, introduced it following the commission's controversial closed door session in late October.

That meeting prompted bipartisan outcry and a Detroit Free Press lawsuit against the group responsible for drawing new congressional and state legislative districts.

In response to the lawsuit filed by the Free Press and other media organizations, a 4-3 decision of the Michigan Supreme Court found that the commission's closed-door meeting violated the requirement in the Michigan Constitution to "conduct all of its business at open meetings," and the high court ordered the commission to release records from the closed session.

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/12/27/bill-whitmer-closed-redistricting-meetings/9025547002/