COLUMBIA--Members of Gov. Mark Sanford's Cabinet might want to lather up with their tanning oil before heading to the Statehouse this morning - because the sun will be shining on their meeting.

Sanford announced Tuesday that he would open his Cabinet meetings to the public - and the press - after he took some heat for his initial decision to close them.

"The governor felt that the trickle-down effect of local governments closing their meetings could really happen, and that unintended consequence would go against his goal of open government," Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

Shortly after taking office in January, Sanford decided to close his Cabinet meetings, saying the Cabinet was not a public body but a staff meeting of his department heads. With cameras in the room, Sanford said, he felt that his staff would not speak as freely as it might need to sometimes.

The South Carolina Press Association said that stance went against the governor's campaign platform for a more open government, and that closed Cabinet meetings could violate the state's sunshine laws on open meetings, depending on the definition of "public body."

Jay Bender, attorney for the press association, said closed meetings only make people suspicious and that Sanford would find the open meetings will give state residents a greater understanding of how government operates. That alone will be worth letting a little sunshine in, he said.

However, Sanford has not changed his opinion on how effective meetings will be with an audience of reporters. "He still believes that the same open and energetic exchange that you'd have without a bunch of cameras in the room will necessarily be limited," Folks said. "But he simply felt that it was worth sacrificing that in order to send the right message to local governments."