What YOU need to know about your right to know
LWV, EKU students host info session on open meetings/records laws

Does that smooth talker dating your daughter really have a degree from Eastern? Did state inspectors see any problems at the day care center where you take your kids? What kind of pollutants come out of the factory down the road from your house?

Sunshine laws are not just for nosy reporters, but for all citizens trying to find out the answers to these and other questions.

The League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County invites the public and local leaders to a Project Sunshine meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, March 26 in the auditorium of the new Business and Technology Center on the EKU campus.

Titled "What You Need to Know about Your Right to Know," the program will feature an interactive discussion of using and understanding open records and open meetings laws.

Panelists for the evening include Assistant Attorney General Amye Bensenhaver; John Nelson, former president of the Kentucky Press Association and managing editor of the Danville Advocate Messenger; Bill Estep, an investigative reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader; and Jim Todd, editor of the Richmond Register.

"The panelists have very special knowledge of how Kentucky's open meetings and open records provide access to information that citizens need about their government," said LWV member Libby Fraas.

Amye Bensenhaver writes many of the opinions from the Attorney General's office interpreting the law and responding to appeals. The Attorney General's office is also involved in educating mayors, county attorneys, local government officials and university personnel about their duty under Kentucky's open meetings and open records laws.

The meeting will be a good place for local citizens who serve on appointed commissions to refresh themselves on their responsibilities under the law, Fraas said.

Every person appointed to a local commission, such as the Richmond Human Rights Commission, is now required to be knowledgeable about the provisions as part of House Bill 77 passed by the 2005 legislature.

"Whether you call them sunshine laws or freedom of information laws, they are meant to protect the right of all citizens to know what government is doing," Fraas said. "Whenever the media fight for access to records or meetings, they actually are carrying the torch for citizens."

Panelist John Nelson will help demystify getting public records, Fraas said. While Nelson was president of the Kentucky Press Association, every county was subjected to a "records audit" to determine how responsive local jailers, school boards and other agencies were to walk-in and written records requests.

Those who attend will learn how to write open records requests from veteran investigative reporter Bill Estep, who used records to determine how successful tax credits and economic development incentives were in wooing businesses to local communities.

Register editor Jim Todd will provide a perspective on how responsive our local government is to the spirit of the open meetings and open records law.

"LWV is very happy to be working with students at EKU to host this meeting locally," Fraas said. Project Sunshine is a national initiative with other groups to promote recognition of the importance of transparency and freedom of information in government.

Since Sunshine Week occurs during EKU's Spring Break, March 26 was chosen for the meeting at the new EKU Business & Technology Center on the south side of campus between Keene Hall and the Law Enforcement Complex. It is accessible from both Lancaster Avenue and Kit Carson Drive.

The $14 million facility was funded by the Kentucky General Assembly, Madison County Fiscal Court, Kentucky Economic Development Funding Authority, and Eastern Kentucky University. There are 150 parking spaces adjacent to the building with hundreds more within easy walking distance that make the building accessible for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

The meeting is, of course, open to the public, Fraas added.

"Democracy works best when its citizens pay attention to what goes on," Fraas said, "a longstanding belief of not only the LWV but our country's founders."

For more information, go to LWV of Berea and Madison County's Web site at http://lwvbmc.iclub.org.

BACKGROUND on Project Sunshine www.sunshineweek.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Libby Fraas, League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County
  Web site: http://lwvbmc.iclub.org

Alternative LWV contacts:

• Jeanne Hibberd, jmhibberd@hindmansettlement.org
• Elizabeth Crowe, elizabeth@cwwg.org

EKU SPJ contacts:

• SPJ student president, Megan Jones, meganjones123@gmail.com
• Dr. Elizabeth Hansen, liz.hansen@eku.edu

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