From the Shelby Star (3/14/12): It's Sunshine Week. The term doesn't refer to the arrival of daylight saving time. Instead, the week of March 11 to 17 stresses the importance of the public’s right to access government records and attend proceedings.
In North Carolina, that access is governed by state laws relating to public records and open meetings.
What does sunshine have to do with open government? Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously wrote in 1913 that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants”— meaning public accountability tends to eliminate government waste and fraud.
Nationally, Sunshine Week was started in 2002 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The national focus is on the federal Freedom of Information Act signed into law 45 years ago by President Lyndon Johnson.
Sunshine laws aren’t just for the news media. All people requesting public records or wishing to attend public meetings have equal access.