Transparency — as a topic — often solicits so many bipartisan cheers that there aren’t enough government-issued pom-poms to go around.

In the beginning.

In and of itself, government transparency isn’t a partisan issue. Who wouldn’t want to know more about how government operates? So legislators on all sides echo their potential voters.

But making real strides in transparency, especially when it comes to shining light into historic shadowy corners, is another story.

One such place is the transparency carve-out around “financial and proprietary information.”

In the recent past, this was used to shield the taxpayers from the amount of a $3.8 billion tax credit given to General Motors through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation through the MEGA program. It prompted 36 legislators and public staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements around an $800 million subsidy for a Chinese battery plant in Big Rapids through SOAR.

This month, lawmakers on the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee heard testimony on a series of Senate bills (SB 559, 560, 561 and 562) proposed to tweak and rename the program, Bridge Michigan reported.

The $500 million Make It In Michigan Fund (formerly SOAR) would tighten up some questionable looseness around tracking actual job creation and environmental costs, point development at areas that need it considering factors like brownfields and unemployment, measuring the project’s impacts, and others. It also would partition off a Michigan 360 Fund for issues around corporate growth, such as housing, small business development, child care and education.

But many of the proposals patch up holes that shouldn’t have been there in the first place — like measuring whether or not the taxpayer-funded move actually benefits taxpayers. And they stop short at making these spends transparent.

When state Sen. John Lindsey, R-Allen, asked about involving site communities sooner in the process, as non-disclosure agreements signed by local and state officials silenced any discussion, questions or addressing concerns, the answers back seemed to be that the problem was too many people involved too early in the process.

Bill sponsor Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, signaled her concern with slowing “down the process.”

“We’re open to feedback and we’d love to find something that strikes that right balance,” McMorrow said.

Well, as evidenced by pushback to some of the plans, including an anti-EV plant “documentary” linked to an international online manipulation group, secrecy begets conspiracies and a susceptible public, not to mention mistrust.

We encourage our leaders to push for openness, to banish the shadows and shed light into these deals made in the public’s name, with public money and for the public good. Scrutiny makes for better deals all around.

That’s something we can all cheer about.

— Traverse City Record-Eagle