Michigan Laws 15.233 – Public records; request requirements; right to inspect, copy, or receive; subscriptions; forwarding requests; file; inspection and examination; memoranda or abstracts; rules; compilation, summary
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 15.233
- FOIA coordinator: means either of the following:
(i) An individual who is a public body. See Michigan Laws 15.232Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC Person: means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, firm, organization, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 15.232 Public body: means any of the following:
(i) A state officer, employee, agency, department, division, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, or other body in the executive branch of the state government, but does not include the governor or lieutenant governor, the executive office of the governor or lieutenant governor, or employees thereof. See Michigan Laws 15.232Public record: means a writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body in the performance of an official function, from the time it is created. See Michigan Laws 15.232 United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o Written request: means a writing that asks for information, and includes a writing transmitted by facsimile, electronic mail, or other electronic means. See Michigan Laws 15.232
(1) Except as expressly provided in section 13, upon providing a public body‘s FOIA coordinator with a written request that describes a public record sufficiently to enable the public body to find the public record, a person has a right to inspect, copy, or receive copies of the requested public record of the public body. A request from a person, other than an individual who qualifies as indigent under section 4(2)(a), must include the requesting person’s complete name, address, and contact information, and, if the request is made by a person other than an individual, the complete name, address, and contact information of the person’s agent who is an individual. An address must be written in compliance with United States Postal Service addressing standards. Contact information must include a valid telephone number or electronic mail address. A person has a right to subscribe to future issuances of public records that are created, issued, or disseminated on a regular basis. A subscription is valid for up to 6 months, at the request of the subscriber, and is renewable. An employee of a public body who receives a request for a public record shall promptly forward that request to the freedom of information act coordinator.
(2) A freedom of information act coordinator shall keep a copy of all written requests for public records on file for no less than 1 year.
(3) A public body shall furnish a requesting person a reasonable opportunity for inspection and examination of its public records, and shall furnish reasonable facilities for making memoranda or abstracts from its public records during the usual business hours. A public body may make reasonable rules necessary to protect its public records and to prevent excessive and unreasonable interference with the discharge of its functions. A public body shall protect public records from loss, unauthorized alteration, mutilation, or destruction.
(4) This act does not require a public body to make a compilation, summary, or report of information, except as required in section 11.
(5) This act does not require a public body to create a new public record, except as required in section 11, and to the extent required by this act for the furnishing of copies, or edited copies pursuant to section 14(1), of an already existing public record.
(6) The custodian of a public record shall, upon written request, furnish a requesting person a certified copy of a public record.