It’s that time of year again — time to celebrate Sunshine Week!

Although its timing tends to coincide with the bluer skies and greener grass of spring, the climate is irrelevant to Sunshine Week’s mission: To cast a bright light on what our elected and appointed representatives are doing with our resources, and how those decisions impact our lives and livelihoods.

Sunshine Week is a national initiative that serves to remind us, as citizens, that we have a right to know what’s going on.

Who can participate in Sunshine Week?

Journalists, private citizens, civic groups, research organizations, libraries, nonprofit groups, schools, public officials—basically, anyone.

Sunshine Week is designed to remind people that they have a right to understand how their government operates, and they have a right to request information they need to achieve that goal.

Why is this important?

Well, there are those in government who might not want citizens to know what is going on. They often justify their disdain for Freedom of Information requests by saying that such queries create too much expense or waste too much time.

This year in Virginia, Del.  R. Lee Ware Jr. (R-Powhatan) sponsored a bill that would allow any public body to seek “injunctive relief” against citizens who are causing “harassment” of the government by submitting too many requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

House Bill 449 did not, however, describe what that “harassment” might entail—did it mean two information requests, or 20? Who decides if the number of requests constitutes harassment? And who decides, and why, whether to seek “injunctive relief,” or a prohibition against further requests?

The bill failed, which is good news for those of us who value the right to ask questions.

But the bill succeeds at providing an example of how tenuous a grasp we might have on this right to seek answers, if we do not hold tight.

Ready to learn more?

Here are a few Web sites that explain your right to information, and how this right can be used and preserved:

The Sunshine in Government Initiative, a coalition of media groups promoting policies to ensure governmental accountability, accessibility and openness, www.sunshineingovernment.org

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a resource page for open records and open meetings in state and local government, www.opengovva.org

First Amendment Center, providing news and research coverage of key First Amendment issues, www.firstamendmentcenter.org