One visit to the website of the Florida Legislature and you'll notice that its branded with the label "online sunshine" - a homage to Florida's sunshine laws, specifically the passage of a constitutional amendment in 1992 granting the public access to records and meetings of state and local government.
There is a nifty little loophole - the legislature can decide for itself that certain records and meetings are exempt. Lately, in discussions on important matters like cutting $1.1 Billion from the state's budget or reforming the state tax system, there have been quite a few meetings behind closed doors. This is not a partisan issue, all Floridians should be concerned when our representatives try to keep us in the dark.
Florida Attorney General's FAQ's on Florida's Open Government Laws
Q. Does the Sunshine Law apply to the Legislature?
A. Florida's Constitution provides that meetings of the Legislature be open and noticed except those specifically exempted by the Legislature or specifically closed by the Constitution. Each house is responsible through its rules of procedures for interpreting, implementing and enforcing these provisions. Information on the rules governing openness in the Legislature can be obtained from the respective houses.
Article 1, Section 24c of the Florida Constitution:
(c) This section shall be self-executing. The legislature, however, may provide by general law passed by a two-thirds vote of each house for the exemption of records from the requirements of subsection (a) and the exemption of meetings from the requirements of subsection (b), provided that such law shall state with specificity the public necessity justifying the exemption and shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the law. The legislature shall enact laws governing the enforcement of this section, including the maintenance, control, destruction, disposal, and disposition of records made public by this section, except that each house of the legislature may adopt rules governing the enforcement of this section in relation to records of the legislative branch. Laws enacted pursuant to this subsection shall contain only exemptions from the requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and provisions governing the enforcement of this section, and shall relate to one subject.
TCPalm - Public access to Florida Legislature is paramount
Far too much of the people's business is being conducted in secret - far removed from the scrutiny of taxpayers and the media, as well as a majority of legislators.
Here's how it works.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, and their lieutenants meet behind closed doors and hammer out agendas and agreements in advance of a special session. In many cases, key issues are resolved even before fellow lawmakers have had an opportunity to discuss, debate and vote on them.
Florida Times-Union - Public deserves better
Lawmakers have made it literally a crime for local governments and for citizen members of related government boards to discuss most public business outside of a noticed meeting where the public can attend and minutes are taken.
Yet, lawmakers have excused themselves from the same standard, leaving the public in the dark about the creation of policy.
The budget cuts have the same trappings - backroom deals and exclusion of the public - as the history-making changes lawmakers engineered to the state property tax system earlier this year.
State Represenatative Dan Gelber: Florida Legislature must be in the Sunshine
These days, lots of important decisions about your life are being made in Tallahassee: How much property tax you will pay, what kind of insurance you can buy, whether public education and health care will be funded adequately.
Increasingly, however, these decisions are being made in private, without the scrutiny of the public and the media.
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I believe it is time for Florida to reconsider whether giving the Legislature a pass on compliance with Florida's Sunshine Laws is a good idea.
It's important that the citizens of Florida realize that the legislature is making very important decisions that affect their lives without anyone being able to serve as a watchdog over the process.
By the way, The First Amendment Foundation is hosting some seminars on open government so you can learn about making your own public records request:
* Monday, October 15, 2007 - Orlando, University of Central Florida
* Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - Miami, Florida International University
Also, you can help build up the Democratic blogosphere in Florida, support the Florida Netroots.