Sunshine Score Methodology
Version 0.1 — v0.1 signals ongoing calibration
What the Score Measures
The Sunshine Score measures the structural transparency protections in a jurisdiction's open meetings law. It is computed from hard statutory fields on each law's record and uses the same formula for every jurisdiction in every country.
This score evaluates what the law requires — not whether agencies comply. Higher scores mean the law includes more provisions for advance notice, public participation, limits on closed sessions, documentation requirements, remote access, and enforcement mechanisms. A law can score highly and still be routinely violated, and a low-scoring law may be scrupulously followed. The score is a starting point for inquiry, not a verdict.
Dimensions and Weights
| Dimension | Max Points | Scoring Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Notice | 20 | Regular notice period: 7+ days = 15, 5–6 days = 12, 3–4 days = 9, 2 days = 6, 1 day = 3; Agenda online required = +5 |
| Public Participation | 20 | Public comment required = 10; Remote public comment allowed = +5; Written comment accepted = +5 |
| Closed Session Limits | 15 | No closed sessions permitted = 15; 1–3 exempt categories = 12; 4–5 categories = 9; 6–7 categories = 6; 8+ categories = 3; Unspecified or none = 0 |
| Documentation | 15 | Minutes required = 5; Minutes published online = +5; Recording required = +5 |
| Broadcast & Remote Access | 10 | Broadcast required = 5; Remote participation by members allowed = +5 |
| Enforcement | 20 | Violations void action = 15, Voidable = 10, Criminal penalty = 8, No penalty specified = 0; Legislature not exempt from the law = +5 |
| Total | 100 |
Score Bands
| Strong | 85–100 |
|---|---|
| Moderate | 70–84 |
| Limited | 50–69 |
| Weak | 25–49 |
| Nominal | 0–24 |
What the Score Does NOT Measure
- Compliance. Whether agencies actually follow the law — the score reflects the law on paper, not practice.
- Accessibility. ADA accommodations, language access, or interpretation services are not captured.
- Meeting quality. Whether meetings are substantive, well-run, or produce meaningful outcomes.
- Practical access. Room size, parking, transit, time of day, or other barriers to physical attendance.
- Data completeness. NULL fields score 0, reflecting data gaps rather than weak law. As coverage improves, scores will naturally rise.
Where external compliance assessments or advocacy ratings exist, we cite them as secondary sources on each law's detail page. We do not fold them into the Sunshine Score because the methodologies differ and mixing would obscure both.
Data Completeness Note
Scores are computed from 14 statutory fields: notice period, agenda online, public comment required, remote public comment, written comment, closed session category count, minutes required, minutes online, recording required, broadcast required, remote member participation, enforcement type, legislature exempt status, and emergency notice period.
Missing data contributes zero points to the score. As data coverage improves — particularly for international laws, where many fields are currently sparse — scores will naturally rise. A low score for a non-US jurisdiction may reflect incomplete data rather than a weak law. We flag data gaps on individual law pages.
Changelog
- v0.1 — 2026-04-10
- Initial methodology. Covers 6 dimensions across all jurisdictions in the database. Wave 1 (US states) is the first fully-populated application; weights may be adjusted after reviewing real-world distributions across international laws.