No Press Association Sunshine Award Recipient In 2026

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/13/2026) The Michigan Press Association (MPA) announced last week it would not present its annual Peter Pettalia Memorial Sunshine Award to a public official leading the charge on open government after another 12 months of no meaningful advancements on transparency reforms.

Instead of seeing the Legislature pass bills to expand the Freedom of Information Act to the Legislature and the Governor's office, the MPA is seeing bills passed that shift public notices to government-controlled websites. MPA Public Policy Committee Co-Chair Brad Thompson said residents could have a more difficult time accessing the information because of the move.

“Efforts to remove public notice requirements give elected officials opportunities to obscure their actions. State lawmakers should focus on improving transparency – by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act, expanding it to cover the governor and Legislature, and protecting public notices – not making it worse,” Thompson said.

Michigan ranks among the lowest in the nation in open record law, according to the MPA.

The Senate made expanding FOIA a top policy agenda in 2025, but House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) blocked its movement.

Instead, the Speaker forced more disclosure on legislative spending items in the appropriations process, requiring that all pieces of “pork” go through a public hearing process before they can be added to the budget.

Sunshine Week is held between March 15-21.

“Until transparency becomes a genuine priority in Lansing, the outlook for open government in Michigan will remain cloudy,” Thompson said.