Palm Beach Daily News

Keep sun shining

Open-government law critical

Government eavesdropping on United States citizens, foreign port contracts, the Katrina disaster, incentives offered to lure Scripps to Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach development deals, Palm Beach election spending: Citizens know about these issues and can choose to debate them, call their elected representatives, and make informed decisions because of federal, state and local open-government laws.

Today is Sunshine Sunday, kicking off a week during which newspapers, magazines, television and radio outlets across the nation will be explaining the importance of freedom of information and celebrating its use by individuals and groups.

Florida Government-in-the-Sunshine legislation is well-established, but there is increasing pressure to limit its safeguards, as it is on the federal Freedom of Information Act. But the right of every citizen to information is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and every citizen should know why it is the key to an open, responsive and responsible government.

Freedom of information isn't just for the so-called "big issues" such as domestic espionage and secret alliances. It's also for the parent who wants to know who is teaching what in the classrooms. It's for the taxpayer wondering why a particular contractor was chosen for a road project. It's for any citizen worried about health care and emergency planning. It's for the philanthropist who wants to know how donations are spent. It's for anyone concerned about what they eat, the air they breathe or the water they drink.

Sunshine laws on every level are an essential part of the vast machinery of public governance. When they are circumvented, constricted or corrupted, it is a threat to the rights of every citizen. Know those rights, use them and celebrate them.

Reproduced courtesy of the Palm Beach Daily News.
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