Openness in government

The Missouri, Washington, Mo.: As the curtain is about to fall on another year, and we are about to enter 2013, it seems almost hopeless to look forward to openness in government at every level, from the rooms of small taxing districts to the chambers of the Missouri Capitol. Violations continue and there is little or no enforcement of sunshine laws, and when there is a conviction the penalties don’t even amount to a slap on the wrist.

It would be unfair to spread a blanket indictment over all public, tax-supported bodies, and on all their members and their attorneys. We have a few bodies with members who abide by the law.

We submit that the most violated law on the books in Missouri is the Sunshine Law. Too many attorneys do not know much about the Sunshine Law, or if they do, rarely do they advise the public bodies they represent that an item must be discussed and action taken in an open meeting.