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TOP JOBS

Driving back from Fredericksburg last weekend, I overheard a very enlightening conversation that took place in the back seat:

Laurel (age 7): Don't do that! Mom said not to do that!

Blythe (age 5): It's OK, Mom's not looking.

Unfortunately for Blythe, Mom was, in fact, paying attention.

This brief exchange perfectly illuminates Sunshine Week, a national project highlighting the importance of open government and access to information, which ended Saturday.

"Open government is a prerequisite for a free society," Sen. John Cornyn said recently. "As our Founding Fathers recognized, a truly democratic system depends on an informed citizenry. Accountability is only an empty promise without transparency."

In other words, politicians need to know someone's paying attention. That's where various open government laws, including the federal Freedom of Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act, come in.

Most newspapers -- including this one -- ran editorials and columns in recent days about Sunshine Week. I'd like to quote from some of them.

Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, co-authored an important update of the FOIA legislation, and co-wrote an op-ed piece for the Austin American Statesman on Monday.

"More than two centuries ago, Patrick Henry proclaimed that the 'liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them,'" the senators wrote. "Open government is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is an American value and a virtue that all Americans can embrace. ... To hold our government truly accountable, we must shine light on the decisions being made in the name of the American people."

The Cincinnati Enquirer also weighed in last week.

"Sunshine is the antiseptic for government corruption and bureaucratic incompetence in an open society," the newspaper's editors wrote.

They gave some helpful, concrete examples of why open government is important.

"Want to buy a house? Imagine trying to do it without being able to have your lawyer do a title search," they wrote. "Concerned about curriculum changes or tax levies in your local schools? You wouldn't ever find out about such things if the school board met in private or didn't publish an agenda."

Without openness, they add, "we would have very little to tell you. ... Stories would be little more than isolated bits of fluff around the blacked-out meat of news."

And the Fort Worth Star-Telegram provided a disturbingly accurate picture of how politicians and public officials too often view the issues.

"Sad to say, the number of public officials who consider open records requests intrusive and bothersome is legion," the newspaper said. "Some have the mistaken idea that the information is theirs and not the people's."

Far too often, even in my experience, when an official is asked for information, that official asks "why?"

"Why? Because the public, which finances these institutions, has a right to know," the newspaper said. "Truth be told, the why doesn't matter. Public information is public information. A requestor does not have to provide a reason for wanting the information."

Transparent government isn't just an issue for me and my kind, the Star-Telegram noted.

"State and federal open records laws weren't enacted for use solely by journalists, although media types file their fair share of requests for information. The laws protect every citizen's right to examine public information ... information is power, and in a democracy, information should never rest solely in the hands of the government. The governed must have access."

Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymaynardtmt@gmail.com.