NEOSHO, Mo. —
News organizations and watchdog groups across the country are wrapping up Sunshine Week, an initiative designed to highlight the importance of open government.
The laws, commonly called sunshine laws, vary among states, but each generally requires that meetings and records of governmental bodies be open to the public, unless otherwise specified. At the federal level, the Freedom of Information Act allows for the disclosure of records of the U.S. government.
Those working in government say they understand and appreciate why the laws are in place. Neosho Mayor Richard Davidson said sunshine laws are good, particularly for the benefit of taxpayers.
“Since governments are spending taxpayer funds, there ought to be some transparency that allows John Q. Citizen to request some information,” he said. “It gives a reassurance to the public in the sense that if they want to know something, the law says they’re entitled to find it out.”
Public bodies can be sued for violating the Sunshine Law and can be fined up to $5,000 plus court costs if found guilty by a court. But going after violations isn’t always at the top of prosecutors’ lists, according to Bill Fleischaker, a Joplin attorney who filed charges against the Joplin City Council in the mid-1980s because of an open-meetings violation.
“There are not many prosecutors that have time to waste on technical violations, so unless there’s something substantial that hurts the public interest,” prosecution likely won’t occur, he said.
Jean Maneke, legal consultant for the Missouri Press Association, said the laws are necessary because of the American philosophy of a government run by the people.
“It’s a law we have to have because you can’t have government in secret,” she said. “That just doesn’t work.”
