sunshine laws

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Sunshine Laws

Statutes that mandate that meetings of governmental agencies and departments be open to the public at large.

Through sunshine laws, administrative agencies are required to do their work in public, and as a result, the process is sometimes called "government in the sunshine." A law that requires open meetings ordinarily specifies the only instances when a meeting can be closed to the public and mandates that certain procedures be followed before a particular meeting is closed. The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.A. § 552) requires agencies to share information they have obtained with the public. Exceptions are permitted, in general, in the interest of national security or to safeguard the privacy of businesses.

Cross-references

Administrative Agency; Administrative Law and Procedure.

sunshine laws

noun availability of government documents, availability of government information, availlbility of governmental records, freedom of information laws, freely available government information, open access to government information laws, open government laws
Associated concepts: Freedom of Information Act

Mentioned in ?

Publishing Law

References in periodicals archive ?

Louis Public Radio and the Radio Television Digital News Association all filed complaints with the office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, asserting that the fees violated the state Sunshine Law.

Record requests flood Ferguson

Sunshine laws are enacted with three main purposes: transparency,

Transparency trumps technology: reconciling open meeting laws with modern technology

Citrus Connection is governed by a board of directors consisting of multiple city and county public officials, it is required to comply with the Sunshine Law.

Cryoserver Email Archiving Used to Comply with Florida Sunshine Law

In its spring issue, the journal covers laws that apply to the Sunshine laws.

What's covered in Sunshine laws

platforms championed sunshine laws as a remedy to government corruption.

Mandated openness in public higher education: a field study of state sunshine laws and institutional governance

All the records we sought were deemed to be public records by a Sunshine Law attorney of our state's newspaper association.

University's FOI project yields scary results

The Florida Sunshine Law requires that cities permanently keep all e-mails sent and received by public employees, creating an enormous number of records.

Archiving e-mail in the Sunshine state

For example, federal judges in the Southern District of Florida met in September and agreed to study whether to expand that state's so-called sunshine law, which restricts privacy agreements, or possibly enact a total ban.

South Carolina federal judges ban secret settlements; other jurisdictions may follow

The new law adds an exemption to the state's Sunshine Law, allowing closure of meetings and records that contain specific information on terrorism-readiness issues.

State Legislation. (Legal Reporter)

When it comes to appropriate action in regard to preventing Sunshine law violations and proper record keeping, it is best to always look at the state's charter, consult the state attorney general for guidance and lastly, inform all participants that what they type or "say" in the electronic forum is on the public record.

Exploring virtual legal presence: the present and the promise

Experience with Missouri municipalities and knowledge of Municipal Law, Sunshine Law and Contract Law are preferred.