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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 27, 2016 01:29 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Robert F. Matzie |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Co-Sponsorship Request: Sunshine Week in Pennsylvania |
| In the near future, I plan to reintroduce House Resolution 89 designating the week of March 16 through March 22nd 2016, as “Sunshine Week” in Pennsylvania. Sunshine Week is the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information and what that access means for our communities. Since the first Sunshine Week was created in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Sunshine Week has led to tremendous gains in open government. Recent amendments to Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act in 2011 (increasing penalties for violations by public officials) are a direct result of advocacy for the public’s right to attend all meetings of government agencies where agency business is discussed or acted upon. It was James Madison, the father of our federal Constitution, who wrote that “consent of the governed requires that the people be able to arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” Since 2005, the Sunshine Week initiative has been celebrated each March to coincide with James Madison’s birthday on March 16. Please join me in recognizing this non-partisan effort to promote openness and accountability in government by co-sponsoring my resolution. |
Introduced as HR717