Michigan House bars legislators, staff from signing nondisclosure agreements; FOIA tie-bar rejected

The Michigan House of Representatives adopted two bills that prohibit members of the Legislature and certain legislative staff from entering into nondisclosure agreements in connection with their official duties and approved immediate effect for both measures.

The measures — House Bill 4052, which would bar legislators and specified legislative staff from signing nondisclosure agreements, and House Bill 4053, which would provide definitions for the nondisclosure agreement act — advanced to final passage after floor debate and roll call votes. HB 4052 passed by a roll-call vote of 80 ayes to 28 nays; HB 4053 passed by a roll-call vote of 91 ayes to 17 nays. Majority Floor Leader Postumas moved and the House ordered immediate effect for each bill.

Why it matters: Supporters said the measures respond to growing use of nondisclosure agreements in matters involving public funds and that public officials should not be bound by secrecy that limits constituent oversight. Opponents did not prevail on the floor, and amendments seeking to link the bills to broader public-records access were rejected.

Representative Morgan offered an amendment to tie the House bills to pending Senate Freedom of Information Act bills, arguing the change would extend FOIA to the Legislature and the governor's office. "True transparency demands that we go further," Morgan said. The clerk opened the board and the amendment "is not adopted," according to the transcript.

Representative Mensah brought a similar tie-bar amendment on HB 4053. He said the change was necessary so "we must go beyond NDAs and also include FOIA protections." That amendment also failed on the floor.

Representative Cara, the sponsor of HB 4052, spoke in favor of the package, calling the legislation "simple" and saying "we should not be signing nondisclosure agreements in our legislative capacity and neither should our staff." Representative Legala also spoke in support, saying the bills are "fundamental to our role as lawmakers" and stressing that taxpayers "deserve to know how their money is being spent." Direct quotes are attributed to the speakers listed in the transcript.

Formal actions recorded on the floor matched the clerk's roll-call tallies: HB 4052 — 80 ayes, 28 nays; HB 4053 — 91 ayes, 17 nays. Both bills were ordered given immediate effect by a raised-vote procedure after passage.

Votes and amendments taken on the floor were limited to the two nondisclosure bills and the tie-bar amendments proposed on each bill; no other amendments to those bills were adopted. The House then proceeded to other calendar items and adjourned until the date noted by the chair.

The House debate kept the focus on transparency in how public officials interact with private entities and whether public-records access should also apply to legislative and executive offices. The tie-bar amendments that would have expanded FOIA protections to the Legislature and governor's office were proposed but defeated.

Looking ahead: With immediate effect ordered on both measures, the statutory prohibitions in HB 4052 and the definitions in HB 4053 will take effect according to the implementation language in each bill (the transcript did not specify effective dates beyond the motions for immediate effect).