Under the fundamental philosophy of the
American constitutional form of representative government that adheres to the
principle that government is the servant and not the master of the
people, it is the policy of this state that
each person is entitled, unless otherwise expressly provided by law,
at all times to complete information about the affairs of government and the
official acts of public officials and employees.
The people,
in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to
decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to
know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain
control over the instruments they have created. The provisions of this
chapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy.
