Michigan's Freedom of Information Act regulates the disclosure of public records by all public bodies in the state.
But the governor, the lieutenant governor, state legislators and their employees are all exempt from the FOIA law.
The only other state to exempt the governor's office from FOIA requests is Massachusetts.
Paul Egan is with the Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau. He looked at Michigan's public records laws in Sunday's Free Press.
He said the argument for the exemption is that it's needed for the governor to get frank advice. But he said the law already exempts communications of an advisory nature.
Egan said without access to public records, reporters can't do their jobs of informing citizens about what their government is up to.
