Sunday, March 15, marks the first day of Sunshine Week 2020.
The week-long event was inaugurated by the American Society of News Editors in 2005. Since that year, the media, government watchdogs and ordinary citizens have celebrated the importance of open government and the federal and state laws that support the public's right to know.
The celebration takes many forms. Newspaper editorials and articles, open government compliance audits, online webinars, meetings with elected officials, and public forums recognize the critical role these laws play in enabling us to know what our government is up to.
The event's timing was not randomly selected. It was chosen to coincide with the birth week of the philosophical Founding Father of sunshine laws, James Madison.
It was Madison who famously declared: "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
It has been argued that Madison was not commenting on the importance of access to government information but, instead, on the importance of access to public education. And not just public education, generally, but public education in Kentucky!
https://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2002/scene_doyle_julaug…
But thanks to the revival of the quotation in the congressional debates preceding the enactment of the federal Freedom of Information Act in 1965 — signed into law by Lyndon Johnson in 1966 — and its invocation by Justice Douglas in his dissent in EPA v Mink, a 1973 United States Supreme Court case construing the act, the quotation is regularly co-opted by open government advocates as a rallying cry.
https://www.justice.gov/oip/freedom-information-act-5-usc-552
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/410/73.html
Madison's words embody the principle that secrecy in government violates the public good.
Laws that enshrine this principle, and afford citizens a means of enforcing their right to know, must be jealously guarded and rigorously enforced.
Kentucky's open meetings and open records laws were enacted in 1974 and 1976, respectively. They are premised on legislative policy statements recognizing that "the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret" and that "free and open examination of public records is in the public's interest."
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=23042
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=23058
Not coincidentally, the Kentucky Open Government Coalition celebrates its one year anniversary this week.
We emerged during the 2019 legislative session as a voice for citizen opposition to lawmakers' attempts to undermine the public's right to know.
Since March, 2019, we have regularly posted on developments in Kentucky's sunshine laws on our Facebook page. Our very small original following has grown to over 1000 followers and continues to grow.
We've witnessed open government victories, defeats, and draws. We've made a few mistakes and experienced a few setbacks. But we've done much more of which we are rightly proud.
We have expanded awareness of the threats to our laws in op-eds across the state, filed amicus briefs, provided training to citizens and officials, responded to inquiries concerning public access to records and meetings, actively participated in the National Freedom of Information Coalition, and advocated for expansion of the public's rights under the laws.
We've stepped on a few toes, made a few enemies (but many more friends), and raised awareness of the danger to our open meetings and records law from complacency, indifference, and blind acceptance.
Soon, we will launch a Kentucky Open Government Coalition website. It will feature a searchable compilation of the past year's posts, a regular blog, guidance for effective use of the laws, additional resources to enhance public understanding of the laws, frequently asked questions, and more.
We welcome your suggestions for additional features. We are, and hope to remain, your voice.
The Coalition will commemorate Sunshine Week in a series of articles focusing on the citizen as open government advocate and how he or she can utilize the law to maximum advantage.
And since daily occurrences do not cease during the annual celebration of Sunshine Week, we will keep you posted on what's happening in the legislature and the courts.
These are dark times. Uncertainty abounds. It has never been more important than today to enforce our right to know what our government knows and how it is responding to the critical health threat we face.
As always, the Kentucky Open Government Coalition's goal is to advance the public's understanding of the Kentucky Open Meetings and Open Records Laws and to encourage the public to embrace, protect, and preserve the rights these laws bestow in furtherance of our common goal of open, transparent, and accountable government.
