“A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.”

– James Madison

Madison had in mind that people need good information to make informed decisions and keep people in government honest and operating in the public interest.

Justice Brandeis put it this way:

“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”

Sunshine week is being celebrated around the country to remind us of the need to shed light on activities and decisions of those who conduct the public’s business.

Too often, however, we’re kept in the dark and gain knowledge after the fact when the damage already has been done.

The fallout from secrecy is reflected in the terms used in recent headlines. Bribery. Corruption. Embezzlement. Kickbacks. No-bid contract dealmaking. Secret mishandling  of hospital pension funding. Closing committees. Using less than a quorum to avoid public meetings. We’ve been bombarded with these words lately.

These news accounts send a loud and clear wake-up call for transparency which promotes accountability.

There has been much talk about transparency and reform. Bills to achieve these goals are working their way through the legislature and could prevent future financial debacles covered up by actions taken under a cloak of secrecy.

One effort is to open hospital administrative administrative and financial matters to public scrutiny. Another bill comes out of the controversy surrounding Corrections Commissioner Epps who allocated no-bid state contracts in exchange for bribes.

We hope legislators pushing for the strongest versions of these pieces of legislation to improve transparency in hospitals and reform the process of state contracts will be able to get these bills enacted and reject amendments to weaken them. But that remains to be seen as legislators wrangle over the Senate and House versions.

Meanwhile maneuvering to avoid conducting public business in the open in other matters continues unabated.

These clashes between government secrecy and the public’s right to know are inevitable. How to resolve those conflicts and disagreements require different measures.

You can file a lawsuit, and various cases have resulted in good rulings improving access to information the public needs to know. The majority of citizens and newspapers don’t have the deep pockets necessary to engage in legal battles to enforce transparency in government.

But now they have an ombudsman.

The Mississippi Ethics Commission is empowered to mediate disputes regarding compliance and enforce the Open Meetings Act and Public Records Act.

If you believe a violation of the access law has occurred, you can complete a complaint form found on the commission’s website.  The complaint may be dismissed, or a hearing held and a written opinion issued on whether the law has been violated.

In the case of records, a fine of $100 may be levied for each violation. Fines for violating the Open Meetings Act are $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense plus reasonable expenses incurred by the person or persons lodging the complaint. Persons who violate the law, not the public body, pay the fine.

Commission opinions have strengthened the rights of access to government meetings and records in Mississippi.

The public right to know is not a difficult concept to grasp. When the public business is discussed, the public has the right to hear those deliberations just as they have the right to obtain public records. It’s the law.

A lot is at stake. Stewards of the public purse are accountable for how they spend taxpayer dollars. Yet corruption and misuse of public funds continue as do efforts to keep the public in the dark.

The struggle between the forces of secrecy and forces for government transparency are ongoing and require vigilance.  In these battles, knowledge is the weapon of choice.

Let the sun shine in.

Jeanni Atkins is executive director of the Mississippi Center for Freedom of information. Her email address is iatkins@olemiss.edu.