Excerpts from Sunshine Sunday editorials, all published March 10.

As the eyes and ears of the public, the press is generally seen as the chief beneficiary of the open-records law--and the chief villain by politicians who prefer to operate in secret. But countless points of access also benefit individual citizens.

So secrecy-loving politicians busily gutting the open-records law aren't just punishing investigative reporters; they are denying you, the average citizen, access to the records that you pay for with your taxes and to which you are entitled by the (state) Constitution.

The business of government is the public's business, and complete knowledge of its actions, both current and planned, is the core of the public records law. Access to that knowledge must be protected.

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Most Florida residents don't spend much time monitoring -- or even noticing -- government activities.

Until they have to.

Until, for example, a once-public hospital is sold to a private corporation -- with details hidden until the deal is done. Until three city commissioners suddenly -- and mysteriously -- decide they're going to fire the city manager without a proper review. Until constituents realize that lawmakers have secretly slashed drug-treatment and environmental protection funding.

Lawmakers know they could never frontally assault the public's right to access, so they settle for nibbling away at it. That makes it important to fight each new incursion.

The right to access [assures] that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth -- or from the people's view.

Pensacola News Journal 

Lawmakers were increasingly seeking to choke off the public's right to know well before September 11, too often at the behest of interests that would prefer to do their business somewhere out of the Sunshine...such as a smoke-filled room.

Knowledge is power. We cannot afford to surrender that power to people who profess to be acting in our interests. As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."

Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville

Public records are among the public's best friends. But they could be confused with public enemies based on the record number of bills before the Legislature to close or restrict public access to government records.

Lawmakers harm their constituents and democracy itself when they use identity theft and security as blanket excuses to dilute Florida's public records laws. Public records enable the governed to see how their government uses taxpayer dollars and administers public services. Public records are equally vital in providing information people need for themselves and their families.

In 1992, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to state and local government documents unless those records are closed bylaw. The guarantee underscores a key point: Public records are foremost about the public, not the press.

The Gainesville Sun

Florida is one of only four states to have elevated the public's right to know to the level of constitutional mandate. [Yet] Floridians are in danger of losing the most valuable accountability tool at their disposal -- their right to know what their government is doing in their names and with their money.

More and more, lawmakers are using the threat of terrorism or privacy rights as an excuse to shred the state's open government laws. But don't be fooled by the Big Lie that ignorance will keep us free. More often than not, records are being closed to appease generous special interests, to make it more difficult to hold public officials accountable, or to make it easier to cover up acts of misconduct or incompetence.

Government secrecy breeds corruption, abuse of power and, ultimately, tyranny.

Information is power. Demand it. Protect your right to it. Do not allow your elected leaders to take it away from you. Because once you've lost it, it will be too late to appreciate what you had.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale 

The 1968 Sunshine Law and 1992 Sunshine Amendment serve many useful purposes: They provide powerful tools for citizens for government oversight and accountability. They deter government wrongdoing, which flourishes in a climate of secrecy. And they uphold the vital principle that the public's business should be done publicly.

Government openness benefits not only journalists, who sing its praises the loudest in editorials like these, but all Floridians, who should join in the chorus.

The Ledger, Lakeland

One thing about closing access to government: It's a bipartisan exercise. Democrats and Republicans alike have controlled the Legislature since the effort began to gain steam.

Few government officials -- once they're in office -- really like the idea of having reporters and average citizens looking over their shoulders. It's so much simpler to do what they think is right behind closed doors, and then announce to the people what has been done in their name.

If you ask them, you'll rarely find any politicians who espouse closed-door government. They give it lip service, at least during their political campaigns. Once in office, though, their enthusiasm tends to wane quickly. Openness is very inconvenient, and sometimes conflicts with political goals.

Florida Today, Melbourne

The people must be informed, and for them to be informed they must know what their government is doing. Any legally sanctioned concealment creates fertile ground for the abuse of power.

The stakes in the public records battle are enormous, and it is a battle Floridians cannot afford to lose.

The Miami Herald

For years special interests have chipped away at Florida's Sunshine laws, including an amendment to Florida's Constitution. This year, the legislative assault has been a doozy. At least 60 bills aim to close access to public records or government meetings. Many are pushed in the name of security; but some clearly aim to protect narrow constituencies at the expense of Floridians in general.

Floridians must remain vigilant.

Without Sunshine laws, Americans likely still wouldn't know which presidential candidate got the most votes in Florida during the 2000 election.

Scrutiny remains today the best check on abuses of power; and open records are the best insurance for good governance. The people's business must be conducted in the bright light of sunshine.

News-Press, Fort Myers 

Your right to know how your state and local governments work is in constant peril. In addition to the usual subversion, genuine new dilemmas have appeared since September 11.

Homeland defense and personal security against such intrusions as identity theft are real problems, and they are often invoked when people seek exemptions to what records and meetings should be open.

Too often, those concerns are camouflage for ulterior goals, for the protection of officials from scrutiny and accountability, or to give cover to special interests out for profit.

Orlando Sentinel 

It's odd that many lawmakers balk at tax increases for fear of angering their constituents, yet would deny them basic information collected by the government they finance with their taxes. Those lawmakers often suggest that only the media have any stake in maintaining public access to government information. That's a canard that reflects a breathtaking ignorance of American history.

James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and primary author of the Bill of Rights, wrote that "the right of freely examining public characters and measures ... has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right." Plainly put, open government is the foundation of democracy.

It's not a privilege reserved for the press. It's a basic right for all citizens.

St. Petersburg Times 

Floridians have a proud and long-standing commitment to open government. We passed one of the nation's first public records laws in 1909. In 1992, we voted overwhelmingly to place public-record and open-meeting guarantees in the state Constitution.

Somehow, over the past decade, the duty to protect open government has been nudged aside by another, more ignoble purpose: the desire to bestow political favors. This session, the September 11 terrorist attacks have inspired some legitimate exemptions, such as a bill to exempt the blueprints of water treatment facilities, arenas, and other public buildings. But in too many other cases, the attacks are being used as an excuse to close off records with no demonstrable impact on public safety.

Though normally competitors, Florida newspapers have united in an effort to sound the alarm. Access to public records is vital to holding our government and interest groups accountable. Floridians need to make their voices heard in Tallahassee.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune 

In our efforts to protect and utilize open-government laws, journalists often regard open-government statutes as preachers view Scriptures -- as the province of their professions.

But open-government laws weren't crafted solely for journalists. The open-meetings and open-records laws, known as the Government-in-the-Sunshine Laws, provide all Floridians with access to public information and the workings of their state and local governments. These are the laws that allow homeowners to monitor land-use decisions affecting their neighborhoods. The laws that require elected officials to conduct open hearings before making decisions.

These are the people's laws. They ensure access to their government.

Tallahassee Democrat

Lawmakers want voters to think they're just leveling the playing field against snoopy journalists. But most open records offer plain old-fashioned consumer protection. They enable you to learn: If your child's bus driver has a criminal record; how your mom's nursing home or child's day care center fared during inspections; whether restaurants or grocers face health violations.

Yes, snoopy reporters are helped. Public records help journalists tell important stories about crime, contracts, construction, public health and other issues.

Facts and information always -- always -- win in the end.

Tampa Tribune

We hear complaints yearly that public meetings lead to less than candid conversations.

"You can go too far and create complete chaos and inability for people to have candid private discussions if you require every part of the relationship between members and the executive branch and their constituents to be on the record," Speaker Tom Feeney told The Associated Press last year after meeting privately with Senate President John McKay and working out a budget deal in secret.

Wrong, Mr. Speaker. It is abundantly clear that decisions shrouded in secrecy erode public confidence. Our elected and appointed officials are not put into positions of responsibility to hide their preferences.

Press-Journal, Vero Beach 

The state constitution, as amended by voters several years ago, makes open government a right. It addresses two key areas: meetings of two or more government officials who could vote on public business, known as the Sunshine Law; and documents, electronic or otherwise, that are given to, created by, or disseminated by any state or local government person in the course of their work.

The classic example of closed meetings leading to bad government and a distrust of government occurred under the reign of Gov. Bob Martinez in the late 1980s. During a pizza party behind closed doors, legislators agreed to impose a tax on services. Eventually, the tax was rescinded and Martinez lost his re-election campaign.

The people we entrust to run government, of course, work for us. And they shall be accountable to us through open government.