With the rise of Wikileaks during last year’s presidential election, the debate over government transparency and accountability is as relevant now as it has ever been.

While the public’s attention has largely been centered around the controversies over leaks on Capitol Hill, in Lansing, lawmakers in Michigan’s House of Representatives recently took action to bring the affairs of the state’s leadership into the sunlight.

Earlier this month, the House passed a package of 10 bills intended to increase the transparency of Michigan’s legislative and executive branches. The chamber approved the bipartisan legislation March 16 — during American Society of News Editors’ Sunshine Week — by a vote of 108-0.

Among the many representatives who sponsored the legislation was Aaron Miller, who represents Michigan’s 59th District, which includes the City of Dowagiac and many of its surrounding townships.

According to the Republican lawmaker, the bills would, among other actions, allow citizens to submit Freedom of Information Act requests to state legislators and members of the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s offices.

For instance, people would be able to request copies of emails and other correspondences lawmakers have with other officials and lobbyists, as well as open up the legislative calendars to allow people to see meetings lawmakers have set up, Miller said.

“I think that, without exception, open government is good government,” Miller said about his support for the package. “These bills will produce a better government, and will prevent abuses and lawmakers from hiding things from their constituents.”

Michigan is just one of two states in the U.S. that does not subject its legislative or executive branches to open record acts, Miller said. Under current laws, people may submit FOIA requests to government entities such as boards, commissions or councils — however, the law specifically excludes the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s offices from these requests.

“Our local governments are held to this standard,” Miller said. “If they have that burden resting on their shoulders, I don’t think it is unhealthy for us to have it as well.”

The package is almost identical to one created by House lawmakers last year, which passed in a 100-6 vote. Miller was among the lawmakers who voted for the package, he said.

However, the bills never made it to a vote in the Senate, expiring at the end of the 2016 session.

In spite of the even larger support for the new package, Miller said he is not “overly optimistic” about its chances, either. Michigan Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof has publicly stated his opposition to the bills.

In a guest column published March 13 on MLive.com, he wrote, “I do not think lobbyists should be able to request my emails so they can advantage their clients. I do not think political opponents should be able to review my calendar for their own gain. I do not think my staff people deserve to have their personnel records scrutinized by the public simply because they work to serve the public.”

The bills were referred to the Senate Government Operations Committee — which is chaired by Meekhof — on March 21. Miller expects the bills to languish in committee, suffering a similar fate to last year’s legislation.

In spite of his current pessimism, Miller is confident the legislation will one day make it to the governor’s desk.

“The future is in open government,” Miller said. “I think these bills will be passed in the future. It is just a matter of when.”