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The Government in the Sunshine Act

The Government in the Sunshine Act is a federal law passed in 1976 to amend the Freedom of Information Act and increase transparency in the federal government.[1] It clarified Exemption 3 of FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3).), which dealt with information that could be withheld from publication.[2

Background

The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966. In the 1970s, the Panama Papers and Watergate scandals prompted greater public interest in government transparency. President Gerald Ford signed the Government in the Sunshine Act into law on September 13, 1976.[3]

Provisions

Open Meetings

The act requires that "every portion of every meeting of an agency shall be open to public observation." It defines a meeting as any gathering of enough members of an agency required to take action. Its following section includes ten exceptions to the publication rule.

Exceptions to Open Meetings Requirement

Agencies can hold closed meetings or withhold records if the subjects discussed therein:[1]

Fall under an executive order related to national defense or foreign policy

"relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency"

Have been exempted from public release by another law

Disclose trade or financial secrets

Involve criminal accusations against anyone

"disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy"

"disclose investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes"

Would threaten the stability of financial markets if released

Would "be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action"

Would hamper the proceedings of a civil action in a domestic or foreign court

The act applies only to federal agencies headed by a board or commission, not to those with an individual leader. It does not apply to meetings involving fewer members than the quorum. Members can also use written communications to discuss matters and reach decisions (notational voting) to avoid the act's publication requirements.

Public Announcement of Meetings

The act also required an agency to announce their meetings to the public at least one week prior to their scheduled date. These announcements had to contain the time, place, subject matter, and whether the meeting was open or closed to the public, and would appear in the Federal Register. Any changes required a further public announcement.[1

https://ballotpedia.org/Government_in_the_Sunshine_Act