4/28/22 - MEDC Sued For Violating Freedom Of Information Act

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation sues the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for not releasing public records.

MIDLAND, Mich. - (Mackinac Center for Public Policy press release)  According to a lawsuit filed by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, the Center had requested public records from the state agency for more than a year and has been repeatedly redirected or ignored.

The Center sent the records request to learn how the MEDC calculated the return on investment for the taxpayer-funded Pure Michigan advertising campaign. 

In 2020, it claimed that the campaign generated $8.79 in state revenue for every $1 spent. But the MEDC refused to disclose the methodology used to generate this figure.

This finding differs significantly from research on the program.  In 2016, the Michigan Center performed its own analysis of the Pure Michigan campaign using publicly available data.  It found that state spending on tourism promotion had not meaningful impact on state tax revenues. 

The Mackinac Center says this case has the potential to establish precedent on whether records generated by taxpayer-funded government contractors and used by agents of a public body are subject to FOIA.