Dawn Zimmer: “in the 1970's, nearly every State in the Union enacted sweeping open public meetings laws. Inspired by Florida's…”

“in the 1970's, nearly every State in the Union enacted sweeping open public meetings laws. Inspired by Florida's sunshine law and spurred by citizens' organizations such as Common Cause, legislatures across America opened the meetings of virtually every State and local public body to the public. Congress responded only partially to this demand for reform. It left a gaping loophole in its rules that allowed committee meetings to be closed by simple majority vote for any reason or for no reason. It is high time for Congress to be subject to the same open meetings requirements that have applied for more than 20 years to the zoning boards and the boards of education in the smallest communities in New Jersey and across the Nation. Justice Louis Brandeis was right when he said sunlight is the best disinfectant. It is time for us to join the 50 States and the communities of this Nation and open our doors and open our windows and let the sun shine in.”