The Legislature has passed two very important bills on to Gov. Phil Bryant for his consideration. Both Senate Bill 2507 and House Bill 928 make significant improvements to Mississippi's so-called "Sunshine laws." They're known that way because of their purpose to increase transparency in government.
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Among the journalism experts testifying before the U.S. Senate last week was David Cuillier, head of the UA journalism school and president of the Society of Professional Journalists, who spoke about the importance of open government and freedom of information in advance of Sunshine Week. Here is his statement, as prepared for delivery, made on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative:
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Read More… from Testimony: Reinvigorating freedom of information for the digital age
Despite widespread interest, efforts to make the North Carolina Legislature more transparent through better audio and video coverage have failed, panelists at an open government forum said on Monday.
Lawmakers conduct much of their work debating bills in public committee meetings, but only two of the many rooms where those sessions are held have microphones, said WRAL capitol bureau chief Laura Leslie. Those are needed to record, broadcast or stream audio.
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Read More… from Transparency lags for NC lawmakers, advocates say
An Associated Press study Monday found that, despite promises of openness and transparency, the Obama administration is not proving itself to be the most transparent administration ever.
“More often than ever,” the study found, “the administration censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy.”
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Read More… from Blog: Despite promises, Obama’s open government record found wanting
The 2014 Legislature had several opportunities to make state government more open and accessible to the public. Sadly, it passed on most of them.
State lawmakers could have set an example for their congressional colleagues by approving a modest bill to improve campaign finance disclosure. Sen. Karen Fraser co-sponsored the bill, with strong bipartisan support, that would have better informed voters about who is funding the campaigns of elected officials and ballot measures.
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Read More… from Open government forecast: Cloudy for Sunshine Week
In February, the Gloversville mayor and Common Council spent nearly 90 minutes behind closed doors in a meeting a state official later said appeared to violate the state's Open Meetings Law.
In January, members of the new Montgomery County Legislature met privately with U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer in apparent violation of the law.
Also in January, the Johnstown Board of Education declined to immediately provide the public with details about administrative raises. A state official said the information should have been provided.
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Break the state’s laws, and a citizen can expect anything from a speeding ticket to an arrest warrant.
But when an agency within New York’s $118 billion state government fails to follow a portion of the state’s own open-records law, it leads to a much different result: nothing.
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Read More… from New York State offices ignore freedom of information laws
Carl Sagan was best known, and appropriately so, as a planetary scientist with a gift for explaining the workings of the universe to those of us who are nonscientists. In his book, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark," he proved he knows us very well:
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Read More… from Now more than ever, citizens must take command of their right to know
Why do Florida's government-in-the-sunshine laws matter so much? Because when nobody watches government closely, bad things happen.
Because democracy depends on an informed citizenry, and it's impossible to know what's happening without access to records and meetings.
Because how else would we know about the dangers of speeding cops in South Florida, or the prevalence of bear attacks in a Central Florida town, or the enormous number of sexual predators who attack again after their release?
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It was a chilling crime and, even with a quick arrest, disturbing questions lingered.
Derrick Thompson called 911 in the coastal Maine city of Biddeford to report that he was being threatened. Police checked out the complaint, decided it was a civil matter and left the scene. Three minutes later, the teenager and his girlfriend were shot dead.
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Read More… from Not just a federal issue: Transparency declining in local government, some say
