|
The Citrus County Chronicle Keep the Sunshine bright. Public, media must defend open record laws We Floridians have justification to be proud of our open record laws though those laws are constantly under attack. Today — Sunshine Sunday — and the week that follows are set aside by the newspapers and broadcast outlets of the state to celebrate these freedoms and to remind citizens that they, too, play a vital role in preserving those laws. A free press and an informed electorate together have the duty to monitor the actions and performance of those we elect to represent our interests. Allowing unwarranted exemptions allows activities that shield the doings of special interests from public scrutiny. The sunshine policy, set firmly in Florida’s Constitution and in state law, requires most meetings of government agencies and most official government records to be open to the public. This hasn’t always been the case in Florida. Still, every year about this time, the biggest threat to open government and open meetings increases like the danger of fire in a droughty forest, as the Florida Legislature gets up to speed for its annual 60-day session. Lawmakers put forward dozens of incendiary bills every year that would blotch the state’s Sunshine law with blackened exemptions. Some exemptions are justified and some are not. The more egregious attempts to alter Sunshine laws can be regarded by the vigilant as Dayglow, neon-lit and loudly clanging indicators of legislators who with brazen rationalizations, show they are working more for monied special interests than their constituents. Keeping public records public is important to all citizens, not just to the news media. Every citizen has a lot at stake in keeping meetings and records public, maintaining a transparency that can help us all understand what is being done in the name of the public. In 2002, voters confirmed they value the Sunshine laws when they voted to require a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature to create exemptions to the open records and meetings laws. Statewide, newspapers surveying their areas in past years have reported that local government offices, despite these laws, don’t uniformly comply with public records requests. These agencies also tend to put up impediments to gaining information by demanding high fees for copies of public documents. Also, as governments become increasingly privatized, open records are becoming harder to obtain. We are proud of our open records and meetings laws, and most government employees are, too. We believe those laws are among the best in the United States. But it’s not easy keeping the door open. We have to vigorously defend our right to know what government is doing. All citizens benefit by making government operate openly, in the sunshine. It’s up to individual citizens, as well as newspapers and other news outlets, to exercise that right.
Reproduced courtesy
of the Citrus County Chronicle. |
