Bill To Increase State Transparency Could Reduce It
Wouldn’t be first time the legislative process worked against open government
Michigan state lawmakers are considering a bill that would publish a quarterly list of state employees’ salaries but exclude their names.
The original version of House Bill 5015 of 2019, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Berman, R-Commerce Township, would list each state worker’s job title and salary on a website operated by the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The site would also include each employee’s benefits and civil service classification.
When it was introduced, Berman’s bill did not specify whether employee names would be named. But when the House Oversight Committee advanced the bill, its members unanimously approved a substitute proposed by Detroit Democrat Cynthia Johnson that would exclude employee names.
“[The original bill] was silent on it. ... It didn’t expressly exclude it,” Johnson said, according to the MIRS news service. “We wanted to make it real crystal clear.”
Under the substitute version, employees’ names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, email addresses, initials, and any other information that could potentially reveal their identities would not be included on the public website. Johnson said that failing to omit that information would subject the employees to potential identity theft.
“It doesn’t prevent the information from being able to be accessed through the Freedom of Information Act,” Berman said of the bill substitute, according to MIRS. “They just don’t want it posted on there and make it easier for somebody with nefarious intent.”
The specific information that would be excluded – individual employees’ names attached to how much they get paid — is currently published on an annual basis by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy on its website. The Mackinac Center uses information it obtains under Michigan’s open records law.
Berman argued that the state should not be relying on a third party to publish information that the state government should be handling on its own.
“The Mackinac Center can just turn off their website tomorrow. We can’t be relying on a third party,” he said. “Also, the Mackinac Center compiling that information is doing a great public good, a great public service in doing so. It is costing them time, money, and resources and donations to do that when it could be easier and less of burden by the government doing it themselves.”
“I think it will actually save us taxpayers’ money by limiting the amount of FOIA requests and the time it would take somebody to compile that information,” he added.
The Mackinac Center, the Michigan Press Association and the Michigan Coalition for Open Government provide the database of public employees' salaries.
The information the bill seeks to withhold has already been paid for by Michigan taxpayers, said Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.com.
“It’s dangerous that the Michigan state Legislature is even considering constricting the citizens’ ‘right to know,’” Andrzejewski said. “Taxpayers already paid the salaries, perks, and pension benefits for public employees. We paid to create and already own the payroll records.”
“When you work for government, you work for the taxpayer,” he added. “Taxpayers deserve to see exactly who is earning how much for which job. Public employee salary and pension records are public information. Period.”
Withholding information from the public about government spending is akin to slamming the door on transparency and accountability, he said.
“Redacting names from the public employee salary file guts the ability of citizens, journalists, challengers to the incumbent political class, watchdogs, and others to give oversight,” Andrzejewski said.
“For example, how many public employees double or triple dip the system? Who, by name, receives how much salary or pension for what unit of government?” he asked. “Without names, it’s impossible to hold government accountable.”
“Don’t shield public employees from oversight,” Andrzejewski concluded. “Names, who is getting paid, is the most important record in the file.”
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
No Need to Fear ‘Uncertified’ Teachers in Michigan – There Are Thousands of Them
There’s little evidence students are worse off
In response to news reports that an increasing number of school districts are using long-term substitute teachers, a poll claims that the vast majority of Michigan residents want people to have more training before being able to teach. But mandating certification is unlikely to help this perceived problem.
In Michigan, substitute teachers need to have completed 60 college credit hours — about half the number needed for a teaching degree. Bridge Michigan reports:
There isn’t much evidence that mandatory certification makes teachers better, though. Consider the fact that there are thousands of teachers in Michigan who are not required to be certified, and there is no evidence they do a worse job. That includes private school teachers, Teach for America, some specialty subject area teachers and homeschooling parents.
The state mandating that “anyone who’s entering a classroom and working with children” jump through more certification hoops isn’t likely to help students. If certification were the key, Michigan wouldn’t have so many lousy schools – most of which are fully staffed by fully certified teachers and administrators.
Just because the state doesn’t mandate certification does not mean teachers, or other workers, are untrained. It doesn’t even mean they won’t meet public certification requirements – indeed, most private schools teachers in Michigan have a teaching degree even though they aren’t required to. Every worker in every occupation needs some type of training. But, most of the time, the employer has a better sense of what trainings, courses or experience makes sense for the job. Schools are no different.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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