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Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Editorial: Florida Sunshine laws are dimming. Here's how to find brighter days ahead
Welcome to Florida. Where Sunshine needs lobbyists and lawyers, and the state motto could just as well be 'nothing to see here.' Where elected officials shamelessly reject attempts to let the people who voted for them know what they are up to. Where government bureaucrats seem increasingly inclined to simply ignore the law, particularly in the agencies overseen by Gov. Ron DeSantis. When Florida first started observing an annual 'Sunshine Week,' it was billed as a celebration of the state's 1967 Government in the Sunshine law that codified open meetings and access to public records. Today, it's more like the award-show reels of the year's casualties. This year, there are a few bright spots — albeit in legislation that faces a high bar to become law. Meanwhile, a flock of brand-new exemptions to the state's open-records laws are clustered at the gates of the state Legislature, fueled by support that's often bipartisan and likely to pass. Unless champions step forward. The good news: It's not too late. House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton have positioned themselves as empowered advocates for principled government. If they are willing to stand up for government in the sunshine, they have a good chance of turning this dark tide. Floridians should reach out to both leaders, along with their own representatives, to ask for their support of the public's right to know. Once upon a time, this state enjoyed a reputation for open government that was second to none. Florida's leaders took pride in the fact that almost every document produced by a governmental agency was available to its residents, even in the days when that meant records kept on reams and reams of paper and meetings that could only be viewed in person. Those who violated these laws had reason to fear serious consequences, including prosecution and the penalty of watching secretive deals unwound in the light of public condemnation. Meanwhile, any attempt to pass exemptions to public information met with fierce, often fatal opposition — and new laws that passed the Legislature often died quickly in court challenges. With the advent of the internet, video streaming and easy, self-service access to government documents online, it should be easier than ever before to access the information that belongs to the public by right. In some cases, that's true — politicians, as it turns out, love to see themselves on video. The websites for the state Legislature provide ready access to session documents and, on the House side, considerable data on the vast lobbying apparatus that seeks to wield influence. And Florida's court system continues to shine as a beacon of openness, in large part thanks to the longstanding collaboration between state court leaders, judges' to-the-letter interpretation of state law and local elected clerks of court, who work hard to make court documents ever more accessible. But the forces of darkness are formidable, and for decades, they played the long game. A tweak here, a nip there —- gradually, more and more documents were officially obscured through exemption bills that officially blacked out records. Year after year, lawmakers hide public records. They make it easier for public officials to do business behind closed doors. Worst of all, local and state government agencies have shown an increasing tendency to fend off public-records requests with barriers like unjustified fees or a simple cold shoulder, letting records requests lie dormant for weeks or months with no response. Over the past few years, the Orlando Sentinel has had to send attorneys to fight for information on several fronts: We fought for records regarding the oversight of publicly funded vouchers that divert hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into unregulated private schools. It took months to uncover information about a shadowy new department that DeSantis set up to provide guidance for ultra-conservative local politicians who were turning school board meetings across Florida into three-ring circuses with endless discussions of drag queens and book bans. The Sentinel even needed attorneys to get public records from local police departments about questionable incidents involving officers. If one of the state's biggest newspapers had to fight for these records, what chance do ordinary citizens stand? That's why state lawmakers who care about good government should embrace a proposed bill (SB 1434, by Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg) that would put teeth back into the state's defanged Sunshine-compliance laws by setting strict timelines for governmental agencies to acknowledge public-records requests. It limits fees for agencies that slow-walk demands for records, and even levies fines when delays become egregious. It doesn't go far enough — certainly, not back to the days when state employees took records demands seriously. But it would be a pivot. And lawmakers have their own recent snub to fuel their ire: The decision to conceal, for nearly two years, a state report that detailed how property-insurance companies bled billions of dollars from their own ledgers and then screamed that they were on the verge of economic collapse. That fake narrative helped convince lawmakers to provide additional taxpayer support, while weakening consumer protection laws to the point where half of all hurricane-related claims following a series of killer storms were denied. Right now, Rouson is the only name attached to SB 1434, which was drafted with the assistance of Florida's First Amendment Foundation and the Florida Center for Governmental Accountability. Perez and Albritton should make it a priority. There's one more way they can immediately claim the mantle of champion. Back when DeSantis' presidential ambitions burned bright, he demanded legislation that made it impossible for Floridians to track where he went (even when he was supposedly traveling on public business) or who he met with. Rolling that sweeping, completely unjustifiable shroud of darkness — and then daring DeSantis to veto it — would be a power move on behalf of Florida's citizenry, making it harder for DeSantis to cut secretive deals in the last few years of his lame-duck administration. There are a few more bright spots. One bill (HB 671/SB 798) would make it easier to track requests and pay any costs of sourcing and copying records via electronic means, making it easier to hold agencies accountable when they stall or 'lose' payments. Another (HB 1321/SB 1726) would strip some of the secrecy from state-university-president searches, letting the public take part in the process of hiring some of the state's highest-paid employees. There's one more crucial way that Albritton and Perez could step up as champions of public access: Say 'no' to most (if not all) of the 130 new exemptions that have been filed this session. Many of them are small, but some are doozies. We'll cover them in another editorial, but for now, 'just say no' is the guidance the president and speaker can offer — and the least Floridians should expect. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hillsborough Commissioner wants Legislature to eliminate Sunshine law for county commissioners
Florida welcoming sign via Common Cause Among the list of legislative proposals that the Hillsborough County Commission is asking their state lawmakers to enact this year is a request from one board member to eliminate sunshine laws for county commissioners. Donna Cameron Cepeda, a Republican first elected in 2022, says her proposal is not about reducing transparency in local government, but instead is intended to improve the 'functionality of the decision-making process for commissioners and specific boards.' 'Discussions under the current Sunshine law can hinder effective communication, particularly [for the] Commission on Human Trafficking where sensitive information needs to be handled cautiously,' Cameron Cepeda told the Phoenix in an email message. 'As a dedicated public servant, I value transparency, accountability, and the public's trust in government operations. Florida's Sunshine Law has been instrumental in ensuring openness and preventing corruption. However, certain circumstances call for thoughtful updates to improve efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining the integrity of the public process.' That human trafficking commission is one of the agencies Cameron Cepeda serves on and she says that the ability to discuss strategy is 'crucial.' 'Traffickers actively monitor anti-trafficking efforts, and public discussions can inadvertently expose our plans, jeopardizing their effectiveness,' she said. 'Limited private discussions would allow us to safeguard sensitive information while continuing to uphold our mission to protect the most vulnerable.' Florida has a long history of strong sunshine laws, starting with the Public Records Law in 1909, which says that citizens can see, read, and copy any records the government receives during the course of business unless a state law says the information is private. The Government in the Sunshine Law was adopted in 1967. In 1992, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a public right to access records and meetings. A decade later, as lawmakers were adding exemptions, voters approved another a constitutional amendment making it harder for legislators to approve future exceptions. Ben Wilcox is research director for Integrity Florida, a government watchdog group. He says that, since its inception, there have been attempts to weaken Florida sunshine laws by public officials who would like to operate more in the shadows than in the sunshine. 'More often than not, these public officials try to argue that allowing officials to discuss issues out of public scrutiny would 'improve the functionality of the decision-making process,'' Wilcox said. 'This is code for actually saying, 'Making deals would be easier if we didn't have to do it at a public meeting.' 'These public officials will also seek to justify their desire to operate out of the sunshine by citing sensitive issues like human trafficking and raising security concerns that traffickers will 'monitor' the public discussions and somehow use the information to evade prosecution. Again, this is a red herring. Any action the local government might take regarding human trafficking will still have to come before the body as an agenda item and be subject to full public discussion. Allowing commissioners to discuss public issues in private will only facilitate back-room deal making. 'The overall effect of weakening our Government in the Sunshine Law will be a loss of public confidence in its government. This County Commissioner says she is not 'advocating for secrecy or reduced public oversight,' but in reality that is exactly what she is advocating for.' Harry Cohen, one of two Democrats on the seven-member Hillsborough County Commission, does not support Cameron Cepeda's proposal. 'I am not in favor of elimination of the sunshine law for county commissioners,' he said in a text message. The Phoenix reached out to two Hillsborough County Republican state lawmakers for comment, but neither responded. Other proposals that the Board of County Commissioners are calling for include: Support legislation for flexibility in housing statutes or policies that may allow for local decision-making while fully funding the Live Local Act programs. Oppose high-hazard coastal areas receiving Live Local Act funding. Oppose legislation that would undermine the county point of sale ban on certain fertilizers containing phosphates during the rainy season. Oppose legislation that impedes home rule authority, thereby limiting the ability of local governments to address issues within its jurisdiction in a timely manner.
