One of the state's fair cities had a meeting of its city council in the last few days to discuss a budget issue. It was time to pass the budget for one of the city's departments, and what concerned city
Sunshine in Missouri
Random thoughts on Missouri's sunshine law written by a lawyer who has an undying interest in this subject which probably only interests a few other folks in this state.
Sunshine in Missouri, published by the Law Professor Blogs Network, focuses on Missouri's Sunshine Law and related transparency issues in government. The blog discusses legal interpretations and practical applications of open meetings and public records laws, including challenges posed by modern communication methods like text messaging and social media. It covers topics such as the definition of public governmental bodies, requirements for open meetings and minutes, legal boundaries of closed sessions, and record retention policies. The blog also highlights historical legislative developments and notable figures involved in Missouri's open government laws, providing context and analysis relevant to public officials, legal practitioners, and citizens interested in government transparency.
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Tell me what you want, Baby, tell me what you need…
By Jean Maneke
I had an interesting discussion today with a reporter about a county commission's actions. Between two budget meetings, the commissioners apparently had decided to take a chunk of funds for an expenditure out of the county emergency fund. Questioned…
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if this was how it’s meant to be….
By Jean Maneke
City councils and boards of aldermen must be falling into their summer doldrums. I'm beginning to get a bunch of calls relating to issues about sunshine law violations. Tom Sullivan, a devoted sunshine law advocate, emailed today about one going…
Round and round and round it goes, and where it ends, nobody knows!
By Jean Maneke
A reporter contacted me recently to check on availability of logs of phone calls made by prisoners in the county jail. She knew she'd accessed that information before, but it had been some time. When she made a preliminary inquiry,…
Please don’t tell me how the story ends, let me go on believin’ till it’s over…
By Jean Maneke
Someone forgot to tell a school board in the state that if you want to keep a secret, you don't tell anyone else. Some folks think the only person you don't tell is the media, and if you do…
Ooh my honey, you got me workin’ day and night
By Jean Maneke
I never argue that members of public bodies are hard-working folks. I know that many put in long hours, for little or no pay. They put up with questions from the public that are at times uninformed or unwilling to…
This livin’ is not so hard as it seems, Don’t let your dreams be dreams…
By Jean Maneke
Some sunshine law issues remind me of a flu bug. The sun shines, it's warm outside and the flu bug goes away. But the minute the days get darker and colder, here it comes again. Sunshine violations start occurring. …
Oh I heard it through the grapevine… and I’m about to lose my mind.
By Jean Maneke
As a child, I played "telephone." I know how that works — how "I need ink" becomes "Your feet stink!" from one end to the other. No sane adult puts too much credence into one person's tale as to…
On that Clear Day, you can see forever and ever and evermore…
By Jean Maneke
An editor called yesterday to discuss his sunshine request for information about checks written by a public body over the last few months. The response he received from the custodian of records was so wrong in so many ways.First the…
You think that I don’t mean a single thing I say? It’s only Words, and words are all I have….
By Jean Maneke
A few days ago, someone called to inquire about their county commissioners. They were holding meetings with individual department heads. They WERE posting notice of the meetings. Good, I thought. So what's the problem?Well, the question is whether they were…