Open government and transparency are the themes of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote dialogue about open government. Sunshine Week officially got its start in 2005, but its roots can be traced back to 2002, when the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors organized Sunshine Sunday in response to the efforts of some legislators to create exemptions to state's open records laws.
But Sunshine Week isn't just for journalists. Open records laws impact everyone. There are a host of free, easy-to-understand and useful resources for you to help you understand what you are entitled to under local, state and federal laws. Here are a few of the best that we’ve selected for you:
The Reporters Committee has an Open Government Guide for each state’s open records laws. The Reporters Committee also offers a federal Open Government Guide and The Digital Journalist’s Legal Guide. The Knight Citizen News Network’s The Citizen Journalist’s Guide to Open Government.
In Georgia, the Georgia First Amendment Foundation is a great resource for information on open meetings and public records in the Peach state.You can also make open records requests to the city of Smyrna and Cobb County
Are you a Sunshine Week Ray of Sunshine? Take the quiz to find out.
SunshineWeek.org has a host of resources on its site.
Finally, we cannot let pass without comment what was the most disturbing aspect of the substitute as introduced yesterday. As originally articulated, the substitute would have authorized agencies to hire lawyers to respond and object to Open Records Act requests and then require the citizen making the request to pay the legal fees charged by that lawyer. This was an astonishing addition to the substitute. Charging for legal fees in connection with Open Records Act requests is strictly forbidden under current law and, to our knowledge, is not allowed in a single jurisdiction in the United States.
S.J.M. 9:19 pm on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 What I and some of my kindred spirits do is monitor this site to ensure that the few loud and outspoken city detractors do not continue to spread misinformation and lies any more than they already do on other sites and in our city meetings. The City clearly has decided it is in their best interest not to respond to certain people. Perhaps it is because at least one of these Smyrna gadflies has filed a law suit against several city staff and elected officials. Regardless, I do not attack any one. I call attention to and correct factually inaccurate information, misleading statements and even blatant lies.
It's called CENSORSHIP. Murphy is a censor.
2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
ps....If I'm antagonistic...what exactly does that make you?!? Just saying.
Here is another fact, Smyrna is a Pretty Coll Place to live posted a wealth of facts in his first post.
Your comments and rants can and do lead to the same sorts of false beliefs. Posting "I don't agree with how the mayor runs the government"is not the same as posting "the mayor is crooked and works in secret".
I appreciate the spirited debate about transparency and open government, however please keep in mind Patch's terms of use before you make a comment. Here's a link to our comments policy for you to reference: http://www.patch.com/terms. Discussion and debate are acceptable, however personal attacks will not be tolerated. If necessary, I will close this thread to comments until everyone has calmed down and can comply with Patch policies. Thanks, Sydney