The Clarion-Ledger Editorial, 4/27/8
Open government advocates have had some rough years in the Legislature.
After Watergate and a series of legislative scandals in the 1970s, the public focused on government ethics. Mississippi got the Open Meetings Act in 1975, the creation of the Ethics Commission in 1979 and the Public Records Act in 1983. Average citizens finally had some legal basis for challenging public officials who closed meetings or denied access to public documents. All officials had to file economic interest statements that anybody could examine.
One of the most important steps for openness came from an effort to update ethics laws.
Proposals to give more authority to the Ethics Commission included provisions to make the commission an arbiter in open meetings and open records complaints. The commission will be able to rule in open meetings disputes and can issue opinions on open records. That is a huge improvement for private citizens who now can go to the commission rather than have to file an expensive lawsuit to enforce the law.
Magnolia Tribune
