Sunshine Week is celebrating its 14th anniversary, across the country, Sunshine Week is marked by panel discussions, workshops, and other events about using and understanding the latest developments in freedom of information resources. Sunshine Week lasts seven days, but it's up to all of us to keep the sun shining on government all year.
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has kicked off Sunshine Week 2019 with a video series highlighting issues of openness and transparency in the Massachusetts Legislature.
You can view them here:
YouTube: Sunshine Week 2019: New Voices
We're two months into this year's session and new voices are emerging to advocate for increased openness and transparency on Beacon Hill.
YouTube: Public Review of Amendments
Today, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is highlighting the bipartisan effort to give the public at least thirty minutes to review amendments during floor debates. Unfortunately, this common-sense good government measure was defeated 111-47.
They're following the leader! Today, the #SunshineWeek spotlight is an incident from the House Rules debate. When the acting Speaker accidentally voted the wrong way on an amendment, an aide quickly pointed out his error and the vote was switched from "No" to "Yes." What followed was a mad scramble from rank and file members to change their votes to match the Speaker. All in all, sixty-three Democrats and one "Independent" were caught playing a game of follow the leader with the voting board. While this is a fairly common occurrence in the House, it's not often caught on camera! Take a look at the video to see it happen.
We hope you find our latest Sunshine Week educational campaign informative, and that you’ll share it with your friends.
Thank you for your continued support.