Missouri Sunshine Laws

Matt Pearl

A few days ago, in preparation for an upcoming presentation I am scheduled to deliver, I was refreshing myself on Missouri’s Sunshine Laws. These are, for anyone completely unfamiliar with them, regulations set forward by the Missouri Legislature to ensure that our elected officials operate with openness and honesty–and that their public disclosures are transparent to the press and to citizens.

I won’t bore you with every detail of the laws, nor is it my intent to accuse any local public entity of noncompliance with the sunshine laws. To the contrary, I have generally found our local governmental entities and school boards to be cooperative for the most part on issues of transparency and disclosure.

But it is a matter that never rests: the public must remain vigilant always in expecting our elected officials to operate in the spirit of public service.

For example, closed meetings should not be secret meetings. Your local council or school board has the legal right to enter into closed session as long as they stipulate such a session on the agenda they release to the public prior to the meeting.

In closed session, only information pertaining to legal matters, real estate purchases or sales, or evaluation/hiring/firing of personnel is eligible. There are a few exceptions to that: closed record information may also include social security numbers of public servants or city employees, or electronic data, the release of which could compromise the legal privacy of people.

There are a few other personal privacy-related issues that allow for closed session, but a closed meeting can never be used to prevent a public board from having to discuss uncomfortable matters before the public.

Incidentally, closed session votes by public boards on personnel become open record after 72 hours. That’s a measure designed to give a city, school board or other governing body time to inform affected personnel on decisions made before the general public learns them. If you get hired (or fired), you deserve to know it before anyone else, including the press.

For the sake of our general interests, all of us need to take an interest in the issue of our governing boards working in the light of day. I don’t say that as a conspiracy theorist or sensationalist. If you’re not interested in the city council meetings, you should not attend them just to keep people honest. The press has the mission to maintain their accountability, and you should expect your public servants to be transparent in their dealings with representing news agencies.

When folks in a position like mine tell you to remain watchful, we mean that you should pay enough attention to what is going on that, in the event of inappropriate action on the part of a local board, you are versed enough on public disclosure policy that you can expect us to hold the appropriate feet to the fire.

In other words, seeking a scandal is a waste of time. You’ll chase so many false leads and rumors that after you make your accusations, everyone will view what you say with skepticism. Instead, expect openness from your county and municipal governments, and from your local board of education.

And we’ll do the same. When our entities meet, we work to report on their doings. We ask questions and work to clarify their actions to the public. It’s not a system of grillings and accusations, but rather one of continuous insistence on accountability and transparency.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: as a citizen and taxpayer, you are a vested owner in your community and school. The folks who govern each one work for you.

Matt Pearl owns and operates newspapers in King City, Albany, and Grant City.