"It's interesting how so many people can be getting it so wrong after all these years," McMaster told an Associated Press reporter in a recent story after 75 Palmetto State journalists conducted a statewide audit of compliance with the law.
The law was enacted 33 years ago, and public officials have spent countless ways trying to circumvent the law since them. Lack of compliance with the Freedom of Information law is high for several reasons, but the primary one is a lack of punishment.
The nation's Founders never imagined modern marvels -- telephones, fax machines and the Internet -- not to mention human behavior that allow branches of government to keep the decision-making process secret from citizens. Instead of open government where citizens stand face to face with public officials, ask a direct question and get a direct answer, they get the runaround.
Georgia has a state law that requires the chairman of a public body to sign an affidavit and swear that the group stayed on topic during an executive session. Lying on an affidavit is a felony in Georgia.
A similar provision finally would put some teeth in South Carolina's law, but residents shouldn't hold their breath waiting on it. The attorney general may advocate compliance, but it will take leadership from the top to force the issue in the legislature.
Gov. Mark Sanford has reversed his stance on open meetings after the attorney general recommended that his cabinet meetings be open to the public. Last month he told an AP reporter, ""At first blush, there's a reticence -- hesitation -- to have completely open meetings because in some instances people will play to the media and in other instances they'll completely clam up," Sanford said. While Sanford concedes that open meetings lead to better policy decision, he is correct that newspapers and journalists have a role to play. Journalists have to be responsible, too, "not just pick the two juicy sentences out of an hourlong conversation," Sanford said.
While the governor is on board, at least one leader in the General Assembly thinks more conversations, not tougher laws, are necessary to improve open government. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, thinks an affidavit could have merit, but he doesn't want to make it a felony as Georgia has.
Without teeth in the law, South Carolina wouldn't be any better off than it is today. The current law has been amended several times since 1972, but it still has no teeth for enforcement. An affidavit with a felony charge would make a great difference in policing the law.