Power must never be trusted without a check.
John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, Feb. 2, 1816
Be not intimidated....nor suffer yourself to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice.
John Adams
Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.
John Adams




The Bitty Blog With the Vast Vision
"I learned by experience that democracy lives on the exercise and functioning of democracy. As a child learns and grows by doing, a people learn democracy by acting in democratic ways. I knew from the history of other countries that even the best democratic constitutions did not prevent dictatorships unless the people were trained in democracy and held themsevles etermally vigilant and ready to oppose all infringements on liberty."
Harry Weinberger, March 1919

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.
Mark Twain

"If you don't have this freedom of the press, then all these little fellows are weaseling around and doing their monkey business and they never get caught.
Harold R. Medina

Action from principle, - the perception and the performance of right, - changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not consist wholly with any thing which was. It not only divides states and churches, it divides families; aye, it divides the individual, separating the diabolical in him from the divine.
Henry David Thoreau - Civil Disobedience

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Let the Sunshine in!

Over the last few weeks I have learned more about enforcement of the Sunshine Laws than I ever wanted to know. "What are the Sunshine Laws?", you ask. Well, the Sunshine Laws are the laws that have been put in place to ensure that public entities such as government agencies and school boards are required to meet, deliberate, and vote in public. This should enable them to be accountable to the taxpayers. There are a very limited number of reasons that a board can meet away from the public according to the Sunshine Law. As you read the reasons, it is clear that the spirit of the law is to protect the rights of private citizens. It would seem that the Sunshine Law should be very effective in holding public agencies accountable.

However, enforcement of the Sunshine Laws is a completely different matter. This is the only law that I'm aware of that requires a citizen to pay to have it enforced. There is no governmental agency that is responsible for its enforcement. Should a public agency break the Sunshine Laws, the only recourse is to file a complaint in Common Pleas Court. To do this, there is a filing fee. If you file pro se, the chances are good that you will lose. The public agency will certainly have an attorney. If you get an attorney, you will have to pay for that attorney out of pocket.

So, what if you decide to "fight city hall"? What happens to them if its found that they broke the Sunshine Laws? Well, they get a "do-over"! The court will give you an injunction to make them fix the problem. Which means, in effect, that they will have to vote again. That's it! That's all! If the court finds that the board members intentionally broke the Sunshine Law, they can be fined. Well, you say, that seems reasonable. It does seem reasonable until you learn that they are fined ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! Are you kidding me?!

I forgot to get my car inspected last year and I was fined $125. Yet the cost for intentional abuse of power and flouting the law by a board members is only ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS? How are penalties of this nature going to dissuade board members of public agencies from doing whatever they would like to do in secret then simply paying a small fine and revoting in public?

Take a look at the story of what occurred at Owen J. Roberts School District in PA, http://www.thefactsaboutojrsd.com/. This school Board didn't care what the taxpayers in the district wanted. They had their own agenda. Someone in the district did care enough to hire an attorney to take them to court. To what end? The taxpayers still didn't get what they wanted. Now, the former superintendent, who the Board fired in a meeting that lasted until after midnight, is suing the district. Defending this suit is going to take money from the taxpayers, whose opinion the Board completely ignored.

Please take a moment to write to your state legislators. Ask them to review enforcement of the Sunshine Laws. Ask them to hold the boards of public agencies more accountable for breaking the law than they would hold you for forgetting to get your car inspected. These agencies are funded by your tax dollars. The only reason to make decisions in secret is because those making the decisions know that they aren't sound decisions. Penalize the people who are intentionally making bad decisions with your tax dollars.

It is time not only to Let the Sunshine in but to offer severe penalties for those who choose to make decisions in the dark.
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