Senate to local governments: "Transparency for thee but not for me"

The Senate just passed SB 5553 (48-1) requiring local governments to post details about their agendas online at least 72 hours before holding a public meeting. While this is a great development, especially with national Sunshine Week starting March 13, the vote is rife with irony in light of the Senate's refusal to take action on SB 5419 requiring increased transparency for legislative public hearings on certain bills. The message from the Legislature to local governments concerning open and transparent government continues to be "do what we say and not what we do . . . READ MORE