Freedom of Information

The Ownership of Government

Power to the people through a little ray of sunshine

There was a little ray of sunshine in today’s edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch.

This story is about the a Virginia General Assembly resolution of commendation for the Roanoke based Virginia Coalition for Open Government for its efforts over the past decade in promoting citizen access to the business of state and local government.

All journalists know that "good news" does not sell newspapers so this little piece was buried deep in Section B as a sidebar story grouped with three separate murder cases across the state.

I know this is not the Nobel Peace Prize. But this resolution is nonetheless significant and should be applauded by all citizens who care about public policy, how tax dollars are spent and the effectiveness of their public officials in the performance of their duties.

While the political theory of public access to government is old, the practical laws enforcing the principles of open government, known popularly as the “sunshine laws,” are relatively new.

Here in Virginia it is the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and it is found as § 2.2-3700 in the Code of Virginia.

Essentially, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act says that we the citizens have a fundamental right to access to local and state government business. This is because the ownership of government is in the hands of the people. This includes access to most meetings and most documents. There are a few exceptions outlined specifically as exemptions by the Code, but those exceptions are supposedly provided to protect certain especially sensitive information.

While progress has been made in the last ten years, largely owing to the good work of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, much more work needs to be done.

Too many citizens are not aware of their rights to access public business and too many public officials still struggle with their natural instincts to keep public the public in the dark.

Consequently, public interests are compromised and the citizens are denied the kind of accountability they are entitled to from their public officials.

Furthermore, there are too many exemptions in the Code, making it easier for public officials to inappropriately hide what they are doing and making it harder for citizens to gain access public business.

Certainly, Code exemptions are needed in cases where the revelation of information would be clearly harmful to the public interest or confidential private interests. But there is no place for exemptions designed to give inappropriate cover to public officials who want to keep the public in the dark on legitimate public business.

While the Iconoclast appreciates the Virginia General Assembly's resolution of commendation, they still have got a lot of work to do. For starters, the General Assembly might want to work harder to remove barriers to public access to public business and to give the the law some teeth so that public officials who flaunt the law face more serious sanctions than presently exist.

For whatever reasons, too many public officials who hold the public trust are too often sucked into the idea that somehow "secrecy is their friend." Why is this?

While public officials may temporarily hold their offices, those officials whether elected or appointed, need to remember that ownership of government always rests with the people. Let us not ever forget that!

So, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.


SPECIAL NOTE: This is election day (Democratic primary in Virginia). Get out and vote. You need the exercise.