Sunshine Laws

In the United States, the term sunshine law is typically used to refer to state laws providing for public access to government meetings and public records as well as to the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), which governs access to business meetings of some 50 federal agencies, commissions, and boards. The Government in the Sunshine Act was signed into law on September 13, 1976, by President Gerald Ford. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Lawton Chiles (D-Florida) and Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY) and was modeled on the earlier Florida Sunshine Act. This entry discusses the Government in the Sunshine Act, state sunshine laws, and new challenges to government transparency.