This article discusses sunshine laws, which provide access to public meetings and records to increase government transparency. It covers exceptions to these laws, such as those related to active legal proceedings, and their ethical objectives. The article also mentions the importance of email correspondence and classified documents.
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RUNNING HEAD: The Constitution and the Administrative State0 The Constitution and the Administrative State
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The Constitution and the Administrative State1 The state and the federal government provide access to the public to attend meeting laws which are usually referred to as “Sunshine laws”. The government holds certain meetings in public. The sunshine laws do not necessarily provide access to the public to address the agency but ensure to provide an opportunity to attend the meetings (Stack, 2015). The sunshine act is a U.S. law which was passed in 1976. These laws enable meetings, records, votes, considerations and the official actions available for the public surveillance. The sunshine laws entail the government to hold meetings with adequate advance notice and at places which are suitable and reachable to the public. The sunshine laws are intended to control corruption within the affected areas of organizations. It also increases public faith through transparency. The law has required the information to be disclosed such as related to national defense, internal personnel rules, and practices, information that harm proceedings, leads to financial speculation or disclosure which constitute a breach of privacy (Sharkey, 2015). The sunshine laws necessitate a minimum amount of transparency as certain entities participate in the regulatory processes. These laws can be enacted at the state and federal level. The laws are usually associated with the decision making at the state or federal level. The Montana Public Records Act is one of the examples of sunshine law which provides access to the public for the public records of government organizations at all levels in Montana. It legislates the systems by which public meetings are directed. The public can communicate with government employees. The law provides rights to the citizens to examine documents and the government procedures in the process of carrying out public duties. It contains all types of government bodies comprising electronic mail. It has also been expanded to include all types of electronic format and non-print media (Okon & Ezike, 2017). The law states that citizens are permitted to public records in the state and no person can be deprived of for such records. Any citizen can examine the documents of all public bodies. There are no constraints on the use of records. The “C-span effect” boosts political posturing over the genuine debate. The state and local governments make use of this model and making more public hearings and arranging meetings over public frequencies or over the internet. There are certain activities which are an exception to the sunshine laws irrespective of implications. These laws are applied to those related to active legal proceedings, comprising certain corrective actions relating to government employees which could involve personal
The Constitution and the Administrative State2 privacy issues (Cordis & Warren, 2014). For instance, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the US protects the right of citizens by requesting certain information from the federal government. All the information should not be disclosed through the FOIA such as issues of national security and certain facets of law enforcement. On the other side, it provides protection about trade secrets in both commercial and financial markets and other information protected by federal laws (Lichter, 2015). The objective of governments is to provide transparency to the public in their working. The political objectives of sunshine laws are to arrange meetings for the public based on the provisions of government. It includes classified information and the data submitted in the support of federal grant applications. This law binds all the government bodies such as advisory committee members and elected officials. The meetings of public boards should be open to the public. The realistic notification of such meetings should be given. It is recommended to take care of the minutes of meetings. The notice should have an agenda or particular subject matter. The government is recommended to avoid holding meetings at places which are not easily reachable to the public. The ethical objective of sunshine laws is ensuring orderly conduct of public meetings. It entails systematic behavior on the part of persons appearing meeting. The public interest requires the law to defend contrary to any conflict of interest and form standards for the conduct of officials and government employees in the situation whenever conflict arises. There is some prohibited conduct which should be considered by the government such as unauthorized compensation and disclosure of certain information. The emails are an important part for the organizations. The government should deal promptly with e-mail correspondence. Some emails contain the valuable information which needs to be carefully recorded and accounted (Brobst, 2015). The government official is accountable to open emails, register emails and record mails in the inward correspondence register. The circulation of classified documents should be restricted to those officers only who can efficiently perform their duties.
The Constitution and the Administrative State3 References Brobst, J. A. (2015). Reverse Sunshine in the Digital Wild Frontier: Protecting Individual Privacy Against Public Records Requests for Government Databases.N. Ky. L. Rev.,42, 191. Cordis, A. S., & Warren, P. L. (2014). Sunshine as disinfectant: The effect of state Freedom of Information Act laws on public corruption.Journal of Public Economics,115, 18-36. Lichter, P. R. (2015). Implications of the Sunshine Act—revelations, loopholes, and impact.Ophthalmology,122(4), 653-655. Okon, G. B., & Ezike, M. O. (2017). Freedom of Information Act.International Journal of Communication,22(1). Sharkey, C. M. (2015). The Administrative State and the Common Law: Regulatory Substitutes or Complements.Emory LJ,65, 1705. Stack, K. M. (2015). An Administrative Jurisprudence: The Rule of Law in the Administrative State.Colum. L. Rev.,115, 1985.