Throughout the week, look for more Sunshine Week information, including a virtual lunch-and-learn on our YouTube channel this Wednesday at noon to help answer questions you might have about public records requests.
Shedding light on Sunshine Laws: Your right to know
Laws alone don’t guarantee honest government. When officials know their emails might be read, their meetings attended, and their spending scrutinized, it reinforces public accountability.
In fact, there are requirements for elected officials and certain public employees to regularly complete training on open meetings and records laws.
The Auditor of State’s Office partners with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to provide the Certified Public Records training course, equipping public officials with the knowledge to properly handle public records requests, conduct open meetings, and understand key aspects of transparency.
- Read more from Keith Faber, Ohio’s Auditor of State
It’s up to us, as citizens, to be vigilant watchdogs
Sunshine laws are crucial tools for journalists, advocates, and activists alike to hold government agencies and elected officials accountable. However, they are just words on the page unless Ohioans make use of them.
These laws take on even greater importance in times when the state legislature or other governmental bodies rush through significant policy changes, with little to no opportunity for public input. This legislative whiplash is on display right now, as lawmakers deliberate over the state operating budget.
- Read more from Sean McCann, policy strategist for ACLU of Ohio
Decades of political stability in western countries have fooled many of us into thinking that democracy is the default means of governance for large portions of our world. It is not.
Our relative prosperity has tricked us into believing that our ability – our opportunity – to elect a school board, a county sheriff, or mayor doesn’t really matter. But it does.
Democracy is not a right for anybody; it is something constantly in flux and under threat and must be earned and peacefully fought for. And once it goes, it’s incredibly hard to revive.