Missouri Sunshine Law

Missouri's Sunshine Law was written to ensure that the public could have access to all sorts of government records — including emails, meetings, votes and deliberations. But do the use of self-destructing text-messaging apps sidestep the reach of the state's open records law?

The state of Missouri is defending itself with an argument that could deliver "fatal blows" to the Sunshine Law: As long as officials don’t bother to keep records in the first place, they can’t be held responsible for refusing to turn them over to the public.

The Missouri Attorney General's office often refuses to enforce a law designed to ensure government transparency because it considers state agencies like the Department of Health and Senior Services "a client." That leaves complainants with few options to obtain public records.

During the 2022 legislative session, Gov. Mike Parson’s office is pushing for a bill that would increase the costs of obtaining records from the government.

The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling ordering the state to pay the legal fees for Reclaim the Records.

Judge ruled state health department 'purposely' violated Sunshine Law in a case brought by a genealogical research service.

Clay County violated a Missouri law on government transparency when it sought to charge The Kansas City Star more than $4,000 for records, according to a…

Raytown’s city clerk “purposefully” violated the law when she spurned a request for public records related to a fatal traffic accident, the Missouri Court…