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Ocala Star Banner
Let the sun shine on government
Our Opinion
Floridians understand and cherish the concept of open government. Time and again voters have reaffirmed by overwhelming margins that they want the public's business conducted in public; in the sunshine, if you will. Problem is, too many of those elected to carry out our wishes in Tallahassee and local government meeting rooms and offices across the state are working to shut us out by circumventing this special mandate.
Today has been declared Sunshine Sunday by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. Sunshine Sunday is an annual statewide effort to re-stimulate public awareness about the importance of open government and access to public records. Certainly it is a vital though frustrating exercise, given voters' repeated support for "government in the sunshine."
Consider that in 1992, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment ensuring legislative business was covered under the Sunshine Laws by a lopsided 84 percent to 16 percent margin. Ten years later, in 2002, the electorate once again solidly embraced the concept of open government, this time by a 77 percent to 23 percent margin, by requiring any exemptions to public records and meetings laws pass both the Florida House and Senate by at least a two-thirds margin.
Despite obvious and overwhelming public support, open government is continually under assault in the state Capitol. This year alone - and it's only the third week of the legislative session - there are 24 House bills floating around seeking new exemptions to open government and records laws, while in the Senate there are a startling 46 such bills.
And, unfortunately, that seeming disdain for the law and the public's wishes doesn't stop in Tallahassee. An exhaustive reporting initiative by the Star-Banner and its fellow Florida New York Times Regional Newspapers last month found that more than half of the time, local government officials throughout the state do not adhere to our open government access laws. Over half the time! That's shameful considering Florida's Sunshine Laws are held up as a national model for those who believe in "government of the people, by the people and for the people."
So it begs the question, what are our lawmakers and government officials thinking? Maybe a better, more cynical query is, just exactly who are our lawmakers representing? Who or what are they so eager to hide?
The Star-Banner editorial board wants not only to celebrate Florida's Sunshine Laws but, equally important, some of the everyday citizens in our community who know the importance, the power of these laws. People who use these laws to effectively watchdog our governmental entities and, in the end, positively impact local public policy.
We are talking about folks like Paul Ferguson. Ferguson, a former newspaperman turned print shop owner, has for years used the Sunshine Law to gain access to Marion County budget and other records. As a result, his is a highly respected citizen voice in shaping County Commission fiscal policy on everything from parks and roads to fleet management and library.
Then there are Darlene Weesner, Shirley Little, and Margie Bielling. This trio of environmental caretakers have utilized public records and meetings to watchdog forthcoming development and road-building plans, using sometimes obscure but vital information to ease the impact of growth on our roads, our water and, as evidenced by the Scenic Road Ordinance they championed, our landscape and trees.
These are just some of the everyday Marion Countians who depend on access to the public records and meetings. Others who count on openness in government range from business owners to builders, health care officials to homeowners. In fact, everyone in Florida has an occasion to know, to need to know, what their government is doing. And that knowledge can only be assured when access to meetings and records remains unfettered.
We urge our lawmakers and local government officials to join the masses and embrace the Sunshine Laws. They're good for government. They're good for business. They're good for people.
Like the old saying goes, there's nothing so cleansing as the sunshine.