Put some bite in our sunshine laws

Hurrah! - so far.

Last week, the Iowa Senate approved legislation that, after two years of effort, would create a public information board to settle disputes about the state's open meetings and open records laws. We urge the House to follow suit and send the bill to the governor before this session ends.

And what better time to do it than during national Sunshine Week, which promotes open government.

A recent case in Monticello provides a good example of why this enforcement board is needed.

One of that community's city council members alleges that the mayor and three other council members last month violated the open meetings law by conducting a “walking quorum” meeting in attempting to fire the city administrator. A complaint was filed with the State Ombudsman's Office but council member Tom Yeoman is considering a lawsuit against the city officials he believes were in violation.

The Jones County attorney recused himself from investigating because of a conflict of interest. He referred the incident to the Iowa Attorney General's Office, which declined to pursue, noting that a lawsuit could be filed.

The Ombudsman's Office has no enforcement power and deals with many other types of complaints, so it appears a lawsuit is the only means to settle this issue.

Which is exactly why the public information board should be created. Why leave individuals with only the option of costly legal action that many cannot afford, forcing them, in effect, to “sue themselves - the government they already support through taxes? This happens too often and is not acceptable.

The proposed board would include five members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. It would have the power to mediate, investigate complaints and issue civil penalties for founded violations - at no cost to the person filing.

Board members would receive a per diem and expenses for serving. Those and other administrative costs would amount to several hundred thousand dollars a year, it's estimated.

While that's a relatively small amount of money for the benefit, we understand that every tax dollar is hard to find these days. Instead, grants from Freedom of Information, media and other organizations could provide a funding stream of nontax dollars, at least to get the board up and running.

If this initiative fails for a third straight year to become law, we fear it would lose momentum and languish indefinitely. The biggest losers would be Iowans who have a right to access the government they pay for.