Treasury Appeal PR
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE News from Progress Michigan May 5, 2015 Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, [email protected] Progress Michigan Appeals $52,000 FOIA Request Fee from Treasury Organization claims the massive fees are attempt to information from the public LANSING —Progress Michigan has filed an appeal with the Michigan Department of Treasury after the department claimed it would need over $52,000 to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request that was completed by other departments free of charge. The appeal was filed April 28 with the Michigan Department of Treasury and begins: “This estimate is in essence a constructive denial of a request ostensibly granted and violates FOIA.” On March 10, Progress Michigan sent a FOIA request to the Department of Treasury asking for “all communications with Paul Pastorek, education advisor.” Pastorek is an out-of- state education consultant who has been advising Gov. Rick Snyder. The exact same FOIA request was sent to the Education Achievement Authority and the Michigan Department of Education, both of which responded by sending the records free of charge. On April 3, the Treasury responded that it would cost $52,108.72 in staff time alone to produce the documents. That price tag did not include copying or mailing costs. “The public has a right to these records and this ridiculous fee from the department leads us to believe that there’s
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Transcript of Treasury Appeal PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENews from Progress Michigan
May 5, 2015
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, [email protected]
Progress Michigan Appeals $52,000 FOIA Request Fee from TreasuryOrganization claims the massive fees are attempt to information from the public
LANSING Progress Michigan has filed an appeal with the Michigan Department of Treasury after the department claimed it would need over $52,000 to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request that was completed by other departments free of charge.
The appeal was filed April 28 with the Michigan Department of Treasury and begins: This estimate is in essence a constructive denial of a request ostensibly granted and violates FOIA.
On March 10, Progress Michigan sent a FOIA request to the Department of Treasury asking for all communications with Paul Pastorek, education advisor. Pastorek is an out-of-state education consultant who has been advising Gov. Rick Snyder.
The exact same FOIA request was sent to the Education Achievement Authority and the Michigan Department of Education, both of which responded by sending the records free of charge.
On April 3, the Treasury responded that it would cost $52,108.72 in staff time alone to produce the documents. That price tag did not include copying or mailing costs.
The public has a right to these records and this ridiculous fee from the department leads us to believe that theres information regarding Paul Pastorek that the administration doesnt want the public to see, said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. Its extremely frustrating that our broken FOIA laws allow this administration to stonewall the public from accessing information that rightly belongs to all of us. A full copy of the appeal is included with this release.
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