Reprinted courtesy of the Brownsville Herald
Today (March 10) begins Sunshine Week. No, it has nothing to do with Spring Break; it’s an annual time to highlight the importance of maintaining open government.
Our nation’s founders created a form of government in which those who make decisions are not only elected from the public at large, but they must answer to those who elected them. We constantly hear complaints about corruption, gridlock and political grandstanding, and it does occur, but compared to other nations around the world – particularly those under autocratic and dictatorial rule – the United States remains one of the freest nations on earth, and is still the envy of people worldwide.
Unlike countries where despots or strong single-party rule restricts the flow of information, we often learn about corruption and malfeasance here and are able to address it by voting out and even prosecuting the bad guys.
It is our ability to learn about officials’ misdeeds that keeps most of them honest, and helps protect our rights and freedoms. An informed public keeps the pressure on officials to maintain policies that will keep them in office – policies that the public will support or at least accept, rather than oppose.
That’s why it’s so important for the American public to know what their elected officials are doing, and how they are spending taxpayers’ money.
Many officials chafe at that pressure. As we have seen far too often in the Rio Grande Valley, some officials see their positions — and their access to taxpayers’ money — as an opportunity to benefit themselves, friends or relatives through with contracts, jobs and appointments at taxpayers’ expense.
Obviously it’s easier to do such things when the public doesn’t know about them. As a result, many officials seek to weaken or even repeal laws that protect the public’s right to know their activities. Some of those efforts are being made right now in the Texas Legislature. Several bills already filed would remove the requirement that requests for bids, notices of proposed tax increases and other important information be published in general-circulation newspapers. One bill would even remove lists of polling places from election notices. That’s an obvious hindrance to the democratic process and at least one public advocacy group already has threatened a lawsuit if the bill should pass.
Several groups, ranging from media to consumer groups and traditional government watchdogs, are fighting efforts to close the window into government actions, and working to keep the public aware of them. SunshineWeek.org, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, American Society of Newspaper Editors and other groups, has much information on open government issues.
In addition, the Texas Press Association, which represents most print media in the state, has built several databases on its website, TexasPress.com, for cities and counties to post public notices. It also features a legislative “bill watch” list of proposed legislation relating to open government and public disclosure. Each bill includes the position that has been taken by a statewide advisory committee of newspapers and other media outlets.
TPA and other groups also are working together to maintain another site, KeepTexasNotified.com, to keep the public informed of open government issues, including bills that might affect public access and knowledge of officials’ actions. Supporters of that effort range from the traditionally liberal Public Citizen and League of United Latino American Citizens to the conservative Americans for Prosperity.
These websites also offer links to other sites and efforts supporting open government.
We applaud such efforts, and encourage everyone to take advantage of them and learn more about the importance of keeping the disinfectant light of public disclosure shining on all government bodies.
