For Sunshine Week 2020, a resolution of transparency

After working as General Counsel for a state agency and serving as an elected school board member, one thing I have learned is that there is a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding about government transparency.  I have had government employees and elected officials tell me that meeting agendas can and should be as vague as possible so as not to attract attention; that large records requests can be shuffled to the bottom of the stack; that all public employee personnel records are confidential; that documents may be hidden by delivering them to an attorney; and that communications between a public official and attorney are protected by attorney-client privilege.  All of these statements are wrong.

Educating the general public about the laws concerning open records and open meetings is definitely needed, and that’s why we were proud to co-sponsor a series of seminars with the Oklahoma Press Association and the Attorney General’s office. However, public education is not enough - real change requires education of and action by those at the top: agency heads, board members, elected officials, etc. When public officials understand and pause to reflect on their transparency obligations, they are more likely (and willing) to impose upon their subordinate administrators to learn and follow the law.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that FOI Oklahoma has sent a draft Sunshine Week Resolution to nearly a thousand cities, towns, school boards, district attorneys, state agencies and various other public entities throughout the state, with the goal of getting them to think about the topic.  We hope that entities will not only enact such a Resolution but also let us know when they do, so we can give them proper credit and celebrate with them. (The public may also have a keen interest in those entities who refuse to adopt the resolution.)

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We need your help getting the word out and encouraging public bodies to adopt it. Please share this link with anyone you know who is a public official or serves on a publicly-funded board, commission, council, etc. Tell them why transparency is important…and maybe gently remind them that it’s actually the law. And if you serve on a public board or commission, we hope you’ll consider adopting the resolution (or one similar) at your next meeting!

NEED MORE INFORMATION?

We recognize that not everyone - including public officials - is as knowledgeable about the Open Records Act and Open Meeting Act as they feel they should be. We’re here to help. If you or your organization would like some training or other assistance navigating the ORA/OMA, please feel free to contact us anytime.