Since Sunshine Week was launched in 2005, many city and state officials have recognized and committed to open government through official proclamations. Some have also held hearings on open government issues or scheduled special events such as open government training sessions for public employees and the launching of a special webpage.

To mark Sunshine Week 2012, we urge citizens and civic organizations across the country to again press state and local officials to find meaningful ways to participate in Sunshine Week to demonstrate that they, too, are committed to true transparency in government.  

One way this can be done is by adopting a meaningful open government proclamation that pledges specific steps to enhance the public’s right to know.

Proclamations can be more than just statements of general supportThey can also address and pledge action on specific open government concerns and shortcomings that you, your organization and/or the officials themselves have identified.

Toward that goal, the sponsors of Sunshine Week offer this model proclamation. It begins with a generalized statement of support for government in the sunshine, followed by a sampling of open government provisions that have resulted in increased transparency in local and state governments around the country.

If your city, county, school board or state government does something special to recognize Sunshine Week,  please let us know. We'd also like electronic copies of any proclamations and other materials to share on the website. You, or the officials, can send them to us at sunshineweek@sunshineweek.org.

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 Download this proclamation in Word or PDF format.

Sunshine Week Open Government Proclamation

Section 1

WHEREAS, James Madison, the father of our federal Constitution, wrote that “consent of the governed” requires that the people be able to “arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives,” and

WHEREAS, every citizen in our participatory democracy has an inherent right of access to government meetings and public records; and 

WHEREAS, an open and accessible government is vital to establishing and maintaining the people’s trust and confidence in their government and in the government’s ability to effectively serve its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the protection of every person’s right of access to public records and government meetings is a high priority of [name of governmental unit]; and

WHEREAS, the [name of governmental unit] is committed to openness and transparency in all aspects of its operations and seeks to set a standard in this regard; and

NOW, THEREFORE, the [name of governmental unit] commits during this Sunshine Week, March 11-17, commemorating the 261st anniversary of James Madison’s birth, and throughout the year 2012 to work diligently to enhance the public’s access to government records and information, to increase information provided electronically and online, and to ensure that all meetings of deliberative bodies under its jurisdiction, and their committees, are fully noticed and open to the public.

[The measures below are presented as examples and should be tailored to the transparency needs of your government and community. They should be as specific as possible and capable of being accomplished within the coming year.]

Section 2

TOWARD THAT END, the [name of governmental unit] directs that:

The [fill in appropriate government official or office, such as county executive or general counsel], make recommendations within 90 days to the [name of government unit], based on public input, for strengthening transparency in our government. The recommendations should focus on actions that can be accomplished within one year of the date of this declaration.

All meetings of [name of governmental unit], its committees and subcommittees, and of any board or agency created by [name of governmental unit] be properly noticed and open to the public. 

All agencies, departments and units of [name of governmental unit] accept, as a minimum, information requests submitted by the following methods: phone, U.S. mail (or its equivalent), over the counter and online.

• A schedule of charges for copies of such records be established that does not exceed actual cost.

• All agencies, departments and units of [name of governmental unit] respond to all such requests for information within ___ business days. If the request is complex and that response deadline cannot reasonably met, the requester should be so advised within by the response deadline and provided with an anticipated final response date.

[Existing state laws, which apply to both state and local governmental units, vary.  Many are silent on a specific response time, leaving it to the courts to determine what might be “reasonable.”  Most that are specific require a response within two-to-five days. Your deadline for a response should certainly not exceed that offered by state law, if the state does provide an actual numerical deadline. You can check the standard for your state through the Reporters Committee's Open Government Guide.]

All agencies, departments and units of [name of governmental unit] keep a log of each public records request submitted and the results thereby showing, at a minimum, the date the request was received; a brief summary of the request; the nature of  response (partial or full grant, denial); the number of elapsed days until a response is rendered and until the records are made available, if different; an indicator to denote if no records were available; the name of the requestor (when furnished); the requestor’s email address (when furnished); and the staff member(s) responsible for processing the request. Submissions which provide no method of response must still be logged-in but otherwise may be ignored.

All agencies, departments and units of [name of  governmental unit] post onsite and online:

• Records which have been the subjects of repeated requests or are likely to be subject to repeated requests. A record shall qualify as “subject to repeated requests”  when it has been requested by different individuals or organizations with no formal connection to each other at least three times within the past twelve months.

[Without suggesting that any particular records are more important than others, here are two examples of records that are important and regularly sought by requestors:]

• All contracts entered into which exceed $5,000, including details of the work to be carried out, estimated completion date and cost, and the name of the vendor(s) along with the amount, date, etc of all checks issued.

• At least 72 hours in advance of formal consideration, copies of all budget requests and a copy of the final budget, with any and all justifications or other explanatory materials submitted as a part of the decision making process.