In principle, most elected officials and government bureaucrats probably would agree that sunshine -- easy access by citizens to what their government is up to -- is a good and important thing.

The trouble is that in practice, the real world tends to get in the way. And that's not good for democracy, which only really works when its business is conducted in the open.

Currently in Montana, laws requiring open meetings and public access to records lack teeth. Improperly closing a meeting is a misdemeanor, but one that's almost never enforced. There is no criminal penalty for open records violations.

People denied access really have only one alternative: to file a lawsuit seeking a court order opening things up. Of course, that takes time and money, and even a win can come too late to do any good.

As Christine Tatum, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, points out in a column distributed to newspapers during "Sunshine Week" March 11-17, much-improved federal legislation is expected to be voted on in the House this week, with a similar bill set to be introduced in the Senate.

The measures would require agencies to make timely responses to freedom-of-information requests and set up tracking systems to help the public follow up on the requests. They also would create an independent omsbudsman position to help resolve disputes and, when lawsuits are filed, make it easy for the public to recover attorney's fees.

As Tatum showed, journalists make up only a small part -- 6 percent -- of federal FOI requests. More than 60 percent are from businesses dealing with commercial matters, and private citizens make up a quarter of the total. Journalists may make the most noise when it comes to demanding transparent government, but the transparency is for everyone.

The proposed changes in federal sunshine laws have bipartisan support, although that support is hardly universal. In Washington, agencies still are advised by the Justice Department that they should look for legal grounds against disclosure, rather than presume the public has the right to know.

We hope the improved FOI law is approved in the nation's capital, and we'd like to see something like it in Montana as well.