SUNSHINE LAW NEEDS TEETH FOR VIOLATIONS

When it comes to the inner workings of government, the need for the taxpaying public to know what's going on is paramount. As a result, most states and the federal government have crafted laws to give the public the access to government information they deserve.

In Missouri, the open meetings and records law is called, appropriately, the Sunshine Law. The intent of the law is to require light in every corner of government, even the dark recesses that often get little or no attention.

Since it was first passed years ago, the Sunshine Law has been revised and, for the most part, improved in ways that make public officials accountable both for their actions and the records they keep.

But one of the shortfalls of the Sunshine Law always has been that penalties for violations have been little more than a slap on the hand.

Efforts to revise the Sunshine Law in this year's session of the General Assembly include a bill that would increase potential fines for violations to $25,000 from $500. Fines would be capped at 5 percent of a public body's annual budget. And the proposal would make it easier for prosecutors to prove guilt.

While $25,000 sounds like a stiff fine, particularly when compared to the current $500 limit, the larger penalty shouldn't be a problem for public bodies -- city councils, school boards and the like -- whose members are law-abiding citizens.

Rather, problems -- and the potential for penalties under the Sunshine Law -- arise when some members of governmental entities attempt to keep secrets. In some cases, decisions to keep these secrets are made knowing that the Sunshine Law has been violated. It is these knowing violators of the law who deserve to be penalized. And the penalty should be significant enough to send a serious warning to would-be violators.

Fortunately for the public, most members of public bodies take the Sunshine Law seriously. Sometimes minor violations occur because of a lack of information. That's something both the news media and members of public bodies need to work on in an effort to avoid needless mistakes regarding the openness of government.

Raising the fine for Sunshine Law violations to $25,000 is a good step toward making sure public officials understand their responsibility regarding the public's right to know what government is doing.