Today marks day four of the nation's first Sunshine Week - a time dedicated to shedding light on the significance of open government for citizens and journalists.

"The idea of public access to government information, documents, meetings and knowing how their tax dollars are being spent is a fundamental tenant of democracy," Sunshine Week Coordinator Debra Gersh Hernandez said. "Our goal is to really drive a public discussion about the importance of open government to everyone."

At the heart of Sunshine Week issues are the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, and Open Meetings Act - laws that protect citizens' rights to access public documents and meetings, respectively. Any citizen can view, for example, meeting minutes, public government budgets and campaign finance documents.

Any citizen can request access to documents in writing under FOIA. With a few exceptions allowed for under the law, state agencies and public bodies are obliged to respond within five business days.

Hernandez said some people are discouraged from using their rights because they don't know a lot about the FOIA or Open Meetings Act.

"For citizens, it can be very intimidating. They don't know where to start - you have this image of walking into this big room of file folders," she said. "But the Internet has really made it easier for a lot of people to access information."

MSU journalism instructor Sandra Combs Birdiett spoke on a panel about Sunshine Week issues Monday in Southfield, Mich. About 100 people attended the panel, and some of them said they were afraid to file a FOIA request.

Citizens don't use the option enough, Birdiett said.

"I don't think many of them know that it's available to them, and unfortunately, some governmental bodies have made it very difficult for the public to access information," she said.

The government is more likely to get away with corruption if people don't check up on it, Birdiett said.

At the panel, Birdiett and others suggested citizens go to city attorneys or the state attorney general for help.

Although they can not represent citizens in FOIA cases, Michigan's Office of the Attorney General works to keep the public informed about the rights under the FOIA, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Quasarano said.