For the past two years, sunshine advocates have managed to beat back a bill move most consumer complaints against licensed professionals out of public view. The bill passed in 2010 but was vetoed by Gov. Lingle. It surfaced again this year, passed the House, but died in the Senate.

So I was very interested to see the issue of public access to consumer complaints raised at the national level by a coalition of consumer groups, including groups from Consumers Union to Public Citizen and the Sunlight Foundation. Their target–the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

“Providing consumers with the information they need to make smart financial decisions is a central part of the CFPB’s mission,” said Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “It’s essential that consumers have easy access to complaints collected by the CFPB so they can protect their families and avoid financial scams and rip-offs.”

Certain sensitive information would remain private, but the groups maintain that direct access to the types of complaints that people report, and how a company handles those matters helps consumers prevent problems.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

And while on the subject of sunshine and disclosure, the EPA has a new searchable website for drinking water complaints.

According to the agency’s press release:

The new Safe Drinking Water Act information on EPA’s website provides:

– Users with information about whether their drinking water has exceeded drinking water standards.
– A serious violators report that lists all water suppliers with serious noncompliance.
– EPA’s 2009 National Public Water Systems Compliance Report, which is a national summary of compliance and enforcement at public drinking water systems.

The serious violators list identifies water systems that have had serious noncompliance due to a combination of unresolved violations.

Links to the data can be found at the end of that press release.

Over at the Sunlight Foundation, you’ll also find their Party Time, a searchable database of congressional fundraisers.

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa has her third fundraiser of the year coming up on June 21st at the Hotel George in Washington, supported by the DCCC. Tickets from $1,000 to $5,000.

In other sunshine news:

• The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a bill that would impose fines of $1,000 to $2,000 for intentional violations of their open meetings law. The bill doesn’t seem to have much chance of passage.

• Vermont legislators passed a bill aimed at strengthening their public records law.

Finally, from the Election Law blog, something else to worry about: “Federal District Court, in Criminal Case, Holds That Ban on Direct Corporate Contributions to Candidates is Unconstitutional under Citizens United.”