Lawmakers in every state have adopted laws requiring most government meetings and records to be open to the public. But in some states, lawmakers have exempted themselves from complying.
The Associated Press sent open-records request to the top lawmakers in all 50 states and most governors, seeking copies of their daily schedules and emails from the government accounts for the week of Feb. 1-7.
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Read More… from Audit: How open record laws are applied in state legislatures
The Tenth “Sunshine Week” ended on March 21. This annual celebration of open government was created by the American Society of News Editors with a grant from the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation.
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Read More… from Editorial: Making ‘Sunshine Week’ every week
Contact: Daniel Bevarly
239.823.1811 • dbevarly@nfoic.org
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Read More… from Veteran newspaper editor and Sunshine Week pioneer named to FOI Hall of Fame
An incredible amount of money ó about $140 billion ó is on the line. Teacher evaluations, tighter ethics laws for lawmakers, higher education and school funding, environmental cleanup money and much more are all getting hashed out behind closed doors in Albany these days.
It is an unseemly, sullied process, rarely leading to the best deal.
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Read More… from Editorial: Budget or no budget, process still stinks in NY State
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Read More… from Newsmakers video: The Best & Worst of WNC Open Government
Sunshine Sunday kicks off Sunshine Week in the Sunshine State. That should produce enough glare to require sunglasses as politicians boast about their open meetings, accessible records and public debates. Then why so many dark clouds on the horizon?
The concept of government in the sunshine is straightforward. Every public agency has to open nearly all of its meetings, allow relevant documents to be examined and copied, and let citizens hear the debate that informs important decisions, especially when tax dollars are at stake.
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Newspapers were once the dominant force in dislodging documents and other records from reluctant federal government agencies, but a new crop of media players, advocacy groups and corporate interests now drive the release of information.
The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 was first envisioned as a tool for traditional media to seek documents, data and information they deemed important to the public's interest. It also was meant to allow ordinary Americans to seek information from the federal government about themselves.
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Read More… from New players join newspapers in using FOIA requests
The annual nationwide Sunshine Week is celebrated this year from March 15 – 21. USA newspapers publish stories about public records and the difficulty in obtaining some of them. “Public records” are generally defined as records regardless of their physical form (so email would be included) made or received in connection with the transaction of official business by any government agency.
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