Sunlight before signing

Sunlight before signing is an open government campaign pledge made during the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign to make non-emergency bills freely available online for a five-day public comment period prior to signing. The campaign promise is a reference to a quote by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis that "Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants."^[1]

The well-received initiative initially faced technical hurdles in its implementation and had limited follow-through. A review by the Cato Institute found that approximately 62% of non-emergency bills during the first term of the presidency of Barack Obama met the pledge.