LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A new court decision will keep the public's eyes from records of an auto insurance fund.
The Michigan appeals court says the state Catastrophic Claims Association is a public body, but lawmakers legally carved out an exemption from public records disclosure.
The insurance fund was created to reimburse insurers for catastrophic claims that exceed $545,000. Owners pay $160 per vehicle per year on top of regular insurance.
A coalition of health care, labor and consumer organizations wants to know how the fund calculates rates.
The court's 2-1 decision was released Friday. In dissent, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher says lawmakers violated the constitution when they threw a cloak over the fund's records without amending Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.
She says no one would know there's a "covert" exemption in insurance law.
Hans Ahlström is the host of several programs including the daily musical variety show Weekday, the mostly straight ahead jazz show Night Studio, the self explanatory Blues Today, and the eclectic Sound Spectrum. You can also hear Hans as the local host of NPR's All Things Considered news magazine. He also helps manage Public Radio 90's web content, interviews local and visiting writers and artists, works with NMU student interns, and writes the occasional news story.