In Coalition Protecting Auto No Fault v. Mich. Catastrophic Claims Assoc., No. 314310, the Michigan Supreme Court granted mini-oral argument to consider whether the Insurance Code, MCL 500.134, violates the Michigan Constitution because it provides a statutory exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) without reenacting and republishing sections of FOIA that are altered or amended. The Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault (CPAN) wants access to the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association’s claims data, and sought that information under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. MCCA refused to disclose the requested information because it is expressly exempted from FOIA by MCL 500.134. CPAN argues that because the exemption does not reenact and republish the sections of FOIA that are altered or amended, it violates Article 4, § 25 of the Michigan Constitution. The Court of Appeals rejected that argument because it concluded that the statute does not does not revise, alter, or amend FOIA, which actually contemplates statutory exemptions.
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