Could more government transparency help prevent another Flint?
Could greater transparency prevent another Flint?
As Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy testify in Congress Thursday about the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., critics say the proceedings highlight the flaws in a system that falls short of holding government leaders accountable for their decisions.
The disaster 鈥� which left about 200 children diagnosed with dangerous levels of lead in their blood 鈥� underscored not only officials鈥� failure to address concerns about the city鈥檚 water quality, open government advocates say. The public health crisis also reflects an overall lack of transparency in Michigan鈥檚 government, which two watchdog groups characterized as the worst in the nation.
As some, but not all, e-mails related to the decision to switch Flint's water source to the Flint River have been released, it also has called to question loopholes in the state鈥檚 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which some say allowed officials to function with little public oversight.
More broadly, the situation has renewed national conversation about the value of the public鈥檚 right to know and the role of accountability in effective governance.
鈥淚f there is a silver lining in what is clearly a tragedy in Flint, it鈥檚 that freedom of information, accountability, and transparency are getting noticed,鈥� says Jane Briggs-Bunting, president of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit advocacy that promotes government transparency. 鈥淧eople are saying, 鈥榊ou know, maybe this could鈥檝e been avoided.鈥� 鈥�
Indeed, as the crisis has unfolded, the public, advocates, and elected officials have called for reforms to Michigan鈥檚 public records law, which is the only one in the nation that statutorily exempts the governor鈥檚 office from FOIA requests. Governor Snyder has since released thousands of e-mails related to the Flint crisis. Michigan's Legislature also is exempt from FOIA.
A review of the e-mails revealed a consistent effort among state employees to sidestep disclosure of public records under FOIA, . Regardless of content, messages invoked attorney client privilege or were labeled 鈥減reliminary and deliberative鈥� 鈥� an exemption meant to be used only when the public interest in encouraging honest conversations among government officials clearly eclipsed the public interest in disclosure.
鈥淣ot subject to FOIA鈥� was a standard subject heading, a term that has no legal standing,聽according to the Free Press.
鈥淵ou have a culture that鈥檚 evolved over the years with employees being told they don鈥檛 need to be talking about that, or 鈥榊ou might get in trouble if you raise that,鈥� 鈥� Ms. Briggs-Bunting says.
An 'F' for transparency
While the events in Flint were not directly caused by such lack of transparency, what happened does reflect an atmosphere of impunity that merits reform, says John Wonderlich, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, a national nonprofit that advocates for open government.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to say that secrecy caused [the crisis],鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut it certainly made it worse.鈥�
Michigan ranked last in a 2015 national study of state ethics and transparency laws by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. The two nonprofit groups cited a weak public records law and an聽absence of laws requiring personal financial disclosures by lawmakers and top state officials for the state's F grade.
Thursday鈥檚 hearing is the second of two Flint-related sessions that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding this week. Snyder is set to testify for the first time, as is EPA chief McCarthy.
In ahead of the hearing, Snyder maintained that he did not know that Flint鈥檚 water was contaminated until Oct. 1, 2015 鈥� nearly a year and a half after the city began using the Flint river as its drinking water supply.
He added that as soon as he found out about the lead levels in the water, he returned the city to Detroit鈥檚 water system and ordered the distribution of water filters and the testing of residents and children for lead in the blood.
McCarthy, however, said state officials were responsible. She noted that at the time, the city was in the care of a state-appointed emergency manager, who was tasked to balance Flint鈥檚 shaky finances and approved the switch from the Detroit system to the Flint river as a way to save money. Pumped through aging pipes and fixtures without adequate corrosion control, the river water exposed Flint residents to 鈥渄angerously high levels of lead,鈥� she says.
Yet crucial as it is, the question of who鈥檚 at fault in Flint is only one concern, critics say. Just as salient is the broader issue of government accountability 鈥� and how to ensure the public and the media are able to exercise their right to know about policy decisions that affect their everyday lives.
鈥淭he entire idea behind FOIA laws and other transparency laws is that people can make better decisions when they have accurate information available to them,鈥� says Mike Reitz, executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan-based think tank.
鈥淩epresentative government doesn鈥檛 automatically hold itself accountable,鈥� adds Mr. Wonderlich at the Sunlight Foundation. 鈥淚n order for democracy to work, the public has to have a basic level of information about what officials are doing.鈥�
Efforts for reform
At the same time, having government officials recognize they are subject to public scrutiny helps prevent abuse of of power.
鈥淲hen someone is looking over shoulder, you鈥檙e more wary about what you鈥檙e doing and you make sure you鈥檙e doing everything right,鈥� says Briggs-Bunting at the Michigan Coalition for Open Government.
Already some state lawmakers have responded to the crisis by urging greater transparency.
On Friday, House minority leader Tim Greimel from February at the AP鈥檚 request. And on Wednesday, a bipartisan group of House and Senate members that would place the governor鈥檚 office under the purview of FOIA. In terms of greater transparency in the statehouse, a proposed bill would create a separate Legislative Open Records Act, which would not go as far as FOIA.
Still, that鈥檚 only the first step, says Mr. Reitz. Meaningful reform, he says, would include reducing the cost of obtaining public records and providing those records in electronic form. But he doubts such change would take place any time soon.
鈥淸Freedom of information] is not a kitchen table issue for a lot of voters,鈥� Reitz says. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 rise to the level of jobs or taxes or education.鈥� As a result, it often takes a crisis like Flint to spur lawmakers and the public to action.
Nonetheless, the events in Flint could bolster awareness of the importance of public information laws not just in Michigan, but across the nation.
鈥淚 think it raises concerns about how much trust we鈥檝e put in public officials at a time when a lot of our infrastructure is not in great shape,鈥� Wonderlich says. 鈥淚t means that there鈥檚 no one automatically looking out for when people are going to be severely hurt by failures of that public infrastructure.
鈥淭hat should be a sobering thought for everyone,鈥� he says.
