On keeping information open to all

Privacy is all the rage now, and although that may seem counterintuitive in a society fueled by social media, Twitter and 24-hour news cycles, it’s actually logical. Too much exposure can make anyone wish for some alone time, and for some protection from constant scrutiny. So we have laws protecting our medical records and autopsies from being made public. There is legislation pending now in Hartford to keep death certificates of children secret, in the wake of the shooting in Newtown, though such secrecy could also keep information from the public eye about the death of a child through abuse or neglect. And Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed a state budget that will continue to painfully remove the teeth of Connecticut’s watchdog agencies, including the state Freedom of Information Commission, the Office of State Ethics and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Does the governor wish for more privacy for himself and his administration? It’s difficult to understand what other motivation would be behind his actions toward the watchdogs, in that the fiscal savings associated with their consolidation and cutbacks are minimal in comparison with the size of the budget deficits the state must resolve.When it’s those in charge at any level of government who would prefer less scrutiny, it’s time for their constituents to sit up and take notice. While not all privacy should be ameliorated in this country, certainly, the need for openness in governmental and public policy is just as urgent as ever. The first instinct of a government official should be to say “yes” to anyone looking to obtain public documents, not to look for all the possible ways to deny such a request. This is Sunshine Week, an annual recognition of the importance of open government and open information. This week grew out of the 2002 launching of a series of Sunshine Sundays in Florida by that state’s society of newspaper editors in response to the attempts of their Legislature to create hundreds of new exemptions to the state open information and public records laws. The initiative was successful, Florida retained its strong freedom of information laws, and the next year the cause was taken up by the American Society of News Editors, then subsequently by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Why should any of these groups have to continue to fight to keep governmental openness in the public awareness when so much information is in the public arena every minute of every day? Because it’s the less obvious information that is kept secret behind all the noise of constant communication that can be the most important in keeping our rights as U.S. citizens secure. Go to www.sunshineweek.rcfp.org to see more information and commentary on the need for all to be vigilant in gaining and maintaining strong freedom of information laws, in Connecticut and across the nation.