Taskforce to let sun shine
Published Sept. 25, 2007
Look out, would-be Missouri Sunshine Law bandits, there's a new prospective enforcer in town.
If elected state attorney general, Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, said he will form a special taskforce to aggressively pursue complaints of public officials who close public meetings or withhold important documents.
"Public officials too often openly disregard the Sunshine Law because they know the chances of an aggrieved citizen or media outlet taking on a rigorous court challenge are small," Harris stated in a news release on his Web site.
Harris said having the taskforce would let officials know there will be consequences for disregarding the laws.
The release went on to name Gov. Matt Blunt's administration as a Sunshine Law violator. It cited the recent controversy where the Springfield News-Leader requested e-mails to and from Blunt's chief of staff but was told that the governor's staff often destroyed e-mail correspondence. This is in violation of the laws that say such documents have to be kept for three years, according to the release.
Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, said he thought Harris' proposed task force was a great idea.
"Those sorts of commissions have been very effective in other states," he said, citing Washington, Florida and Tennessee as examples. "It's probably an overdue idea in Missouri."
Sandy Davidson, journalism professor and adjunct professor of law, also said the attorney general has an important part to play.
"The more activity we have from the attorney general, the better, as far as I'm concerned," Davidson said. "I'd like to see a strong office in terms of sunshine laws like we've seen a strong office in terms of consumer protection."
She said it was in the public interest that public custodians were doing things right.
"The attorney general could help, not by cracking a whip, but also to help educate custodians of records," she said. "It could help to know someone is there to help and someone is looking over their shoulders."
Davis said sunshine laws are extremely important to citizens.
"They are the tools of the people, created out of disgust for the secrecy of government," he said.
But he said if government officials chose to work in secrecy, there was a fair amount of leeway to do that.
"I hope it serves as a reminder to all that a sunshine law is only as important as the public official enforcing it or watching it," Davis said. "They can be willfully ignored."
Davidson said there are several penalties for those that violated Freedom of Information laws, including fines, payment of attorney's fees and even criminal penalties in some states. She also said such laws allow a judge to undo decisions made in a private forum that should have been public if it's in the public interest.
Davis said the attorney general's office could start legal proceedings but also noted it's generally not a very vigorous enforcement. He also said private citizens or organizations such as newspapers could take legal action. But he said there were problems presented by this, too.
"The irony is you're facing a government institution with salaried lawyers by the dozen," Davis said.