LANSING, MI -- A state House panel on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill designed to update Michigan's Freedom of Information Act and ensure that government offices are not making it unnecessarily difficult for citizens to access public records.

"There's too many examples where people are being economically or bureaucratically stonewalled, or given just enough information to discourage them from pursuing information," said sponsoring state Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

House Bill 4001 would require public bodies to details costs, including labor, if they intend to charge a citizen for access. Government agencies could not charge more than 10 cents a page for making copies and could not charge at all if the citizen just wants to look at the records or uses their own equipment to make copies on-site.

A delayed response would reduce those costs further, and in the version of the bill approved Wednesday, a public body that is taken to court for a refusal or delay in disclosing requested records could face a fine of $2,000 for a basic violation or more for an egregious violation.

"This is just a modernization of Michigan's FOIA Act -- long overdue -- to provide some additional standardization and transparency," said Shirkey.

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Groups representing the local governments have raised concerns that the proposal could cost them time and money. But supporters say that requiring public bodies to provide a summary of costs might help citizens determine exactly what documents they actually need to access, thereby streamlining the process.

"I think what this is going to do is drive a lot of them to put stuff up on the internet," said state Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, who chairs the House Oversight Committee. "Put it out there. That's what they ought to be doing anyway."

McMillin introduced a separate measure that would create an "Open Government Commission" within the Department of Civil Rights to monitor Freedom of Information Act requests, compliance and complaints. He's still working on that bill and was not ready to move it out of committee.

Shirkey's proposal, meanwhile, is heading to the House floor for consideration.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.