Let the Sunshine in

This issue does have merit on the surface.

Rutherford County legislators and local elected officials should lead efforts to turn back a proposal that would pull the curtain on Tennessee's Sunshine Law.

A measure approved by a subcommittee of the state panel appointed to strengthen Tennessee's open meetings law would allow members of elected bodies to gather for meetings as long as they don't have a quorum of members.

Tennessee Sunshine laws are one thing that we should be proud of, and never relinquish one bit of these hard fought laws for any reasons.

Now those who wish them rolled back does have a few good points.

Some officials believe Tennessee's law is too strict, that it should be OK for two or three members of an elected body to chat about policy during "chance meetings." They believe such talk could take the power out of the hands of bureaucrats who aren't bound by the open meetings act.

I can understand the desire to simple talk on issues outside of the public, but the history of backroom deals have left a foul history in Tennessee, and we must stand strong against this change.

Recently the town council talked openly about a resolution that stated that they were against a change in the cable franchise laws. That change was small compared to a roll back of the sunshine laws. A simple email to our town council can get this moving forward as it should.