Bill > SB1180

This bill amends Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—a state law that gives the public the right to access records from government agencies—by significantly overhauling how public bodies can charge fees for processing public records requests. Specifically, the legislation removes standard labor costs for searching, examining, reviewing, and redacting records from regular fee calculations, permitting public bodies to charge for employee labor only under specific circumstances where a request requires an employee to work overtime. Furthermore, the bill updates definitions and administrative processes, such as clarifying requirements for itemized fee estimates, outlining rules for records already available on a public body's website, and establishing that requests can be considered abandoned if required deposits are not paid within a set timeframe.