Public access to local and state government information is at stake if legislators continue to delay the passage of comprehensive reform of Iowa’s open-records and open-meetings laws.

These so-called “Sunshine” laws have suffered in recent years at the hands of legislators who are often uninterested in improving government transparency. Doing business behind closed doors is sometimes more appealing to government officials because, they argue, they can be more honest.

In recent years, the Iowa legislature created a commission to oversee complaints, reportedly making the process of investigating citizens’ complaints about violations of the open-records and open-meetings laws a more streamlined process. However, according to journalists, citizens who have made complaints and those who are interested in keeping government more accountable, the office in charge of analyzing those complaints has done a poor job of enforcing laws. This is why some have encouraged legislators to strengthen sunshine laws.

As written in an article printed Monday in The Des Moines Register, “One reason Iowa lawmakers agreed to look at sunshine laws: Enforcement of the laws is almost nonexistent. Very few cases of violations have been prosecuted, while individual taxpayers have been forced to spend thousands to challenge violations in court.”

Two versions of House File 777 have been discussed recently in the legislature, one in favor of more openness and one feeding from the hands of so-called government lobbyists. The original version attempted to “increase penalties for violating the meetings and records laws and create an enforcement panel.” Yet a different version included an amendment that “replaced an enforcement panel with a 17-member advisory board dominated by government officials and state legislators.”

Open-meetings and open-records laws are a critical check on the procedures of local and state government. In order for democracy to work properly the people need to know what the government is doing, especially at this time when government funds are moving quickly and frauds are prevalent.

According to the article, some legislators are choosing to agree with “government lobbyists — for cities, counties, and school boards” who believe that an increase in the openness of their meetings and records would cause more time and money to be spent to keep information more readily available. Being open is a matter of convenience. It’s easier to make a decision if parents of school children are unaware of the controversial proposal. It’s easier to deal with citizens if they are in the dark about a new policy, and those who are in positions of power to enhance sunshine legislation know that.