Our Views: PAR touts 'sunshine'

March 02, 2013

8 Comments

When people in government or public policy talk about sunshine, they’re usually not referring to the weather, but the ideal of government transparency. The idea is that light shining on government acts like a disinfectant, promoting health and vigor in a functioning democracy.

That’s the principle behind Sunshine Headquarters, a continuing initiative of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, or PAR, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that studies state issues.

PAR’s Sunshine Headquarters is an online home for helpful information that citizens can use in making requests for public records and understanding the state’s Open Meetings Law, which generally requires that public bodies conduct business in full public view. The website also offers information on campaign finance disclosures. Several key resources at the website are offered in multiple languages, including Spanish and Vietnamese. The website also includes links to information about securing federal documents; here, citizens can learn about their rights under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Additionally, PAR’s Sunshine Headquarters offers links to the latest news about potential violations of sunshine laws.

We salute PAR for making this information available to citizens. PAR’s Sunshine Headquarters is available through its website, http://www.parlouisiana.org.

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Comments (8)


1) Comment by phil - 27/02/2013

no answer yet to my question.

2) Comment by Scrooge - 23/02/2013

See louisianavoice for where the sun don't shine

3) Comment by Scrooge - 23/02/2013

Tradewinns "set a minimum sentence of 5 years in angola for "public servants"" but then the DoA and DoE would have no one left -you want to put Jindal in jail as well? He isn't around that often anyway.

4) Comment by phil - 23/02/2013

Here is the situation as I have found it. You can go ask for a public record and be told you cannot have it. I believe that is a clear violation of the La Law. So what can you do? Go to the police and tell them a law has been broken and ask them to arrest someone? The answer as far as I can tell is NO. You have to file a lawsuit or other document with the court system. Of course, that probably means that you have to have money up front to pay for an attorney and court costs. I have a question. If government agencies and government attorneys etc know that a law is being broken but tell you you have to go hire an attorney to get the issue fixed, are they part of the problem or are they part of the cure? I will wait for an answer.

5) Comment by tradewinns - 23/02/2013

set a minimum sentence of 5 years in angola for "public servants" who violate the sunshine law. no plea bargaing, no early release. just a full 5 years in angola, general population only-no special treatment. give these crimes priority over everything else maximum 1 year from start to finish. that'll handle all but the dumbest servants.

6) Comment by rgeraldwallace@cox.net - 23/02/2013

Throw on a light and roaches run everywhere; a metaphor that is quite apropos as applied to government.

7) Comment by phil - 22/02/2013

Thank you PAR for having the information on your website.

8) Comment by phil - 22/02/2013

Yes I have some advise too. Try to bring a witness with you when you make public records requests in case it is suggested that you might end up in jail if you do not leave soon.