Inside Michigan's new online FOIA portal

How it works: Users can submit and track their Freedom of Information Act requests online after logging in.

• The department's previously fulfilled FOIA requests can also be searched and viewed through the portal.

🥊 Reality check: Online FOIA portals aren't entirely new, but they can expedite requests and make payments easier.

• The dashboard only applies to the Secretary of State's office, which handles elections, vehicle transactions and driver's licenses.

Between the lines: We gave it a test run last week, requesting citizen complaints about Detroit auto repair shops since September.

• We got a response the next day saying our request was denied because the records do not exist. We refined the request, which is pending in the system.

The bottom line: The rapid response was impressive. Other public bodies in Michigan take much longer to deny a FOIA request.