Keep the sun shining N.C.: Open records laws are essential for keeping the government accountable

This week is Sunshine Week part of a nationwide initiative to raise awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information.

As part of this campaign journalism organizations released results from a two-month survey designed to assess the openness of state governments.

North Carolina tied for third.

This is reassuring news and state officials should be applauded for these findings.

However there is always room for improvement in government transparency and accessibility.

The Sunshine Week survey looked specifically at the online availability of public records which range from consumer complaints to teacher certifications.

While important this is just one aspect of accessibility.

The survey does however reflect the evolving nature of government transparency in the digital age.

In April of last year The (Raleigh) News & Observer and other news organizations sued then-Governor Mike Easley after it was discovered that state government employees were deleting e-mail messages to keep them from becoming public.

Lawsuits like this have led to increased public access to government information and increased public awareness to the importance of open records laws.

Open records laws are essential to the journalists who report on government activity but these laws exist for the benefit of all citizens.

Whether you want to look up the tax value of a home you are thinking about buying or check for sexual predators in your neighborhood easy access to public records can be extremely useful in everyday life.

Sunshine Week should serve as a reminder to all citizens that the government is ultimately accountable to them.

But with this knowledge comes a certain amount of responsibility.

Citizens ­­— as well as journalists — must be vigilant in holding their government accountable.