A checklist for online sunshine

The Sunlight Foundation has a checklist for online sunshine.

The goals were developed as part of its Open House Project, which aims to make the U.S. House of Representatives more available online. But they would be a good starting point for any such effort.

"These kinds of principles could work at a state legislature as well," said spokeswoman Gabriela Schneider.

The checklist is a little jargon-heavy, so here's a rough translation of a few goals: Do not use proprietary computer formats, broadcast committee meetings, require disclosure reports be filed electronically and create a verification system for archived records.

While Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and the head of the state NAACP have called for legislative webcams, the Sunlight Foundation also calls for the video to be archived as well.

Currently, the state legislature offers streaming audio, but it does not provide archives. (Savvier computer users can use programs like Audio Hijack to record proceedings, however.)