Public beliefs about the Legislature's openness are shaped by what they see or don't see happening at the state Capitol. A frenzy of hearings, quick decisions with little discussion, and a mass of confusion is the lawmaking process that is sometimes compared with a sausage factory.

While making sausages may be unsightly, citizens want to see the ingredients used to make their laws. When denied, the secrecy breeds suspicion and distrust. Left unchecked, it turns into public disdain that threatens our democracy, and people lose faith in our system of governance.

I believe we are closer to this grim situation than legislators might admit. There is ample evidence for this belief, including the embarrassingly low voting rate and the meager number of citizens involved in the legislative process.

People are not apathetic — they want more transparency in the legislative process. Citizens want to know why laws are passed, who benefits and why some bills become law while others do not.

Unfortunately, the current legislative process leaves too many of these questions unanswered. Instead of the Sunshine Law, the legislative process is governed by rules adopted by the Legislature without a public hearing. These rules may be waived or suspended and enforcement is optional.

Ideally, the Legislature should abide by the Sunshine Law, or at least the fundamental principles of open government. Then, there would be adequate public notice for hearings. More discussion in open meetings before voting. More merit-based decisions. And less suspicion of favoritism and horse-trading.

If there was more sunshine at the Legislature, there would be greater accountability, public understanding and trust in the Legislature. There would be more opportunities for citizens to participate, and a greater sense of public ownership.

Legislative rules provide an efficient process to enable the Legislature to complete its work in 106 calendar days. To operate under the Sunshine Law and its longer public notice requirements, I believe at least 120 days would be needed. This would remove a frequent complaint — inadequate public notice for hearings meetings. The two- and three-day notice requirements, which include weekends and holidays, favor citizens who are trained in the legislative process.

The most serious complaint, however, is that the Legislature makes most of its important decisions outside of public view. This fosters suspicions that legislators may be influenced by interests other than the community's. Current legislative rules do not include the sunshine principle that decisions should be made in public, and secret deals made in closed-door meetings should be prohibited.

To gain the public's trust, the Legislature could start by opening up the legislative process to public viewing and participation. For example, late last Friday two committees posted notices for hearings scheduled for early Monday morning. There should be a four-day public-notice requirement, not counting weekends and holidays, and a revised legislative calendar to accommodate this.

There are workable ways to align the legislative process with sunshine principles. But it will take an openness to public scrutiny, a willingness to be held accountable, interest in competing ideas, support for public participation and avoidance of secret dealmaking.

Significant incremental changes have been made toward legislative transparency in the last 20 years. I believe many legislators are strong enough and ready to allow the sunshine in. Legislators can begin restoring public trust by encouraging public discussion on ways to open up the legislative process.

Sen. Les Ihara Jr. is majority policy leader in the Senate. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.