Happy National Sunshine Week: A Call for a More Transparent Government
Commentary by Becky Tallent | FāVS News
Happy birthday, James Madison. Happy Freedom of Information Day to all the rest.
March 16, Madison’s birthday, is celebrated as National Freedom of Information (FOI) Day, honoring the man who wrote the First Amendment. The week of March 16 is celebrated as National Sunshine Week (this year March 10-16), calling for more transparency in government actions.
Each year, journalists and advocacy groups hold observances so citizens can better understand their rights under both the First Amendment and the two Federal Freedom of Information Acts (1966, which was limited to paper documents, and 1996, which included electronic documents), plus state open records laws.
This year, there are multiple issues afoot that could lessen the ability of citizens to get government information. Some of the top concerns include the impact of artificial intelligence on information and public access to government records since there are many bills in state legislatures that would limit public access to information.
State Exceptions Are Numerous
Despite Idaho statutes claiming all work in the state should be open to the people, the state’s legislature currently has 49 bills that would impact open records, including HB 384 involving school libraries, HB 394 that would impact the sale of state administrative facilities, HB 395 addressing electioneering messages and government documents and HB 409 relating to the sale of surplus state property.
Idaho’s Open Records Act already has 40 exemptions, along with the usual excusing of ongoing criminal investigations and juvenile records, the exceptions have been expanded to include archaeological records, trade secrets including academic research, Idaho Housing and Finance records, voting registration records and underwriting and claims of the Idaho Petroleum Clean Water Trust Fund, among others.
In Washington, the 87 exemptions to the state’s Public Records Act include: employee files, some investigative records, volunteer records, driver’s license records, agency mailing lists, policy drafts, employee hiring test questions and background checks, financial information obtained by the Clean Washington Center for services related to marketing recycled products and real estate transactions, among other things.
Also, HB 2307 in the current Washington legislature would change the process of challenging a public records denial by modifying the administrative and judicial review process, affecting people’s access to state records.
Asking for Records
If states and their agencies run using taxpayer dollars, then the records should be open and available to everyone. On both the state and federal levels, anyone can use an Open Records or FOI request to gain information.
A sample FOI request is a letter to the open records officer of the agency that specifies what records are wanted under the state and/or federal laws. The request can include any document that gives direction or rules on employee responses to the media, including requests for interviews, or documents of a specific event or issue. The requests must be as specific as possible.
States do have the right to include a minimal charge for any documents, although the requestor can ask the fees to be waived.
But freedom of information can go beyond the actual documents.
Gag Orders Limit Access
One of the more pressing issues currently involves government agencies issuing gag orders on their employees. The Society of Professional Journalists recently compiled a list of federal and state agencies that have issued prohibitions of employees talking to the media. The list includes the federal departments of education and energy along with the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration. Several cities and school boards across the country have also issued gag orders.
Federal agencies with vague or contradictory policies about talking to the news media include the National Park Service, the Department of Agriculture, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services along with several district attorney offices and cities.
These gag rules place a chilling effect on the release of information, some of which can be vital for the public to know and understand. An employee who might know of corruption or could better explain a process, they can be frozen out of talking due to the gag order.
How the people’s money is used should be something all citizens can know. Using freedom of information laws can help everyone not only better understand their government, it also helps both state and federal agencies remain accountable to the people by letting the sunshine in.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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