By: Newspapers around the country today carried editorials and news articles relating to official secrecy and the efforts by journalists to fight for open records--on the opening day of the annual "Sunshine Week" campaign. Looking at a few specifics, some things your government doesn't have to tell you about:
? Medication errors at your grandparent's nursing home in North Carolina.
? The safety plan at your child's school, if you live in Iowa.
? Disciplinary actions against Indiana state employees.
States have steadily limited the public's access to government information since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new Associated Press analysis of laws in all 50 states has found.
Legislatures have passed more than 1,000 laws changing access to information, approving more than twice as many measures that restrict information as laws that open government books.
The horror of the attacks spurred a wholesale re-examination of information that could put the country in danger, and the state actions roughly mirror those on the federal level. Federal agencies responded by shutting down Web sites, pulling telephone directories and rethinking everything from dam blueprints to historical records.
In statehouse battles, the issue has pitted advocates of government openness, including journalists and civil liberties groups, against lawmakers and others who worry that public information could be misused, whether it's by terrorists or by computer hackers hoping to use your credit cards. Security concerns typically won out.
"What these open government laws do is break down that wall of government secrecy so that everybody knows what's going on," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporter Committee for Freedom of the Press. "A democracy can only function if we have information. You can only have oversight of government if you have information."
While fear of another terrorist attack drove many new proposals, it wasn't the only motivator. Concerns about identity theft, medical privacy and the vulnerability of computerized records have sparked many pieces of legislation, too.
Lawmakers say they are recalibrating the balance between information that could be used against society and what society at large needs to know.
"Since September 11, we're looking at information like plans for our nuclear plants, the records of our bridges and transportation systems. All of the critical information that is out there that we don't necessarily want to put in the hands of a terrorist," said New York state Sen. Nick Spano, a Republican who had proposed tightening legislation soon after the attacks.
"It's a very difficult balance between the public's right to know and the public's right to security," Spano said.
New Access Laws
A look at the numbers from an Associated Press analysis of public information laws in all 50 states. AP reporters tallied proposals and laws since Sept. 11, 2001, that sought to change the public's access to government information and meetings:
? Bills proposed: 3,505.
? New laws passed: 1,023.
? Laws that restricted public access to government information: 616.
? Laws that loosened access: 284.
? Laws that were neutral or mixed: 123.
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