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| Sunshine Laws Project | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sunshine Laws Project |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Founders | Jane Doe; Michael Rivera |
| Focus | Transparency; Open Records; Accountability |
Sunshine Laws Project The Sunshine Laws Project is a nonprofit advocacy and legal organization dedicated to promoting open records, public access, and transparency in U.S. public institutions. Founded in 2012, it engages in litigation, policy research, strategic communications, and coalition-building to advance statutory access to documents, meetings, and data. The group operates across federal, state, and local arenas, interfacing with legislators, regulatory agencies, media outlets, and civil society organizations.
The organization was established in 2012 by civil rights attorney Jane Doe and former policy advisor Michael Rivera following high-profile disclosures related to the Freedom of Information Act and state sunshine law controversies. Early work included interventions following the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and responses to reports from the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Government Information Services. The Project expanded during the 2010s amid debates over surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden and litigation connected to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It has since been involved in national campaigns alongside the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
The group’s mission emphasizes enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act, improvement of state public records laws such as the California Public Records Act and the Florida Sunshine Law, and promotion of open meetings statutes used in jurisdictions like Texas and New York (state). Activities include strategic litigation, amicus briefs filed with courts including the United States Supreme Court, policy white papers referencing standards from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, and training workshops for journalists from outlets like The New York Times and ProPublica. The Project also collaborates with academic centers such as the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.
Sunshine Laws Project has shaped case law through appeals in federal circuits including the D.C. Circuit, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. It has submitted comments to agencies such as the Department of Justice and the National Archives and Records Administration and contributed to legislative drafting for reforms in states like California, Florida, and Illinois. Notable legal influence traces to precedent-setting rulings involving public access to records from entities including the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and municipal bodies in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Project is governed by a board of directors with members drawn from litigation firms like Covington & Burling, academic institutions like Harvard Law School and Georgetown University Law Center, and nonprofit groups such as the Sunlight Foundation and the Brennan Center for Justice. Its staff includes attorneys formerly from the Department of Justice, policy analysts from the Pew Research Center, communications specialists with experience at NPR and The Washington Post, and fellows from programs at the Knight Foundation. Advisory panels have featured scholars from Yale Law School and practitioners connected to the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The Project has participated in high-profile litigation challenging exemptions asserted by agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. Cases have involved access to records related to the Affordable Care Act implementation, municipal contracting scandals in Detroit and Baltimore, and investigative reporting that intersected with coverage by BuzzFeed News and the Associated Press. It has filed amicus briefs in matters referenced by judges from the Supreme Court of the United States and in state supreme courts such as the California Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.
Funding sources include foundation grants from the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as project-specific support from the Craig Newmark Philanthropies and corporate philanthropy tied to firms such as Microsoft and Google. Partnerships extend to coalitions including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and university-based research hubs at Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Critics from political actors in states like Florida and Texas have accused the Project of overreach and politicization, citing disputes over access to executive communications and pre-decisional records tied to elected officials in Arizona and Ohio. Some watchdogs and commentators at outlets including Fox News and The Wall Street Journal have questioned its funding from the Open Society Foundations and potential conflicts involving partnerships with technology firms such as Palantir Technologies. Internal debates reported in media outlets discussed tensions between litigation priorities and collaborative policy reform advocated by groups like the National Freedom of Information Coalition.