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Daytona Beach News-Journal Florida has one of the best government-in-the-sunshine laws in the country, and residents benefit from it in ways they may not realize. Open-meetings laws make it illegal for city commissioners to surprise quiet neighborhoods with the gift of a cement plant. Public-records laws let the public track how tax dollars are spent. Again and again, Florida’s experience has proved that open government leads to good government. So why don’t sunshine laws apply to the Florida Legislature? They certainly would be welcome. Even in the best years, key legislative issues — including the state’s annual budget — tend to be decided in closed-door meetings with little documentation. Legislators even have little meeting rooms in the House and Senate chambers that are not visible from the galleries. Lawmakers can also disappear into a warren of conference rooms or stand elbow-to-elbow in hallways, whispering quiet deals and passing scribbles that may eventually make it into the statute books. They don’t fear penalty — there is none. Lawmakers use secrecy strategically. Major bills are often held until the last week (even the last day) of the annual legislative session. Amendments magically appear that radically change legislation’s impact — with little public notice and no opportunity for input. Lawmakers from both major parties play the game. The dominant party has another weapon in its ability to shut down debate or amend and pass bills so quickly that lawmakers don’t even have time to read them. The hurried atmosphere is an influence peddler’s dream. Anyone standing in the 4th floor rotunda of the Florida Capitol can eavesdrop on lobbyists bragging about their ability to play one legislator off another. It’s an open secret in Tallahassee that much of the legislation — especially last-minute amendments — is penned by lobbyists, not legislators or staff. There aren’t many legal roadblocks to slow the legislative circus. Under the Florida Constitution, any committee meeting or legislative session is supposed to be "open and noticed to the public" and all "prearranged gatherings" of more than two lawmakers are to be regarded as meetings. But over the years, legislators have manipulated those provisions to the point where a piece of paper thumbtacked to a bulletin board an hour before a meeting constitutes notice. Lawmakers feel perfectly secure arranging meetings in restaurants — public not invited, records not kept — to hash out troublesome legislation. This should stop. All across Florida, hundreds of city councils, advisory boards, county commissions and school boards operate perfectly well inside the bounds of government-in-the-sunshine laws. Citizens should ask no less of their Legislature. House Speaker Allan Bense and Senate President Tom Lee can start opening doors to the public by tightening their chambers’ rules, and making it clear that exceptions will not be tolerated. They should also propose a constitutional amendment that holds lawmakers to the same rules that govern local officials, giving Florida residents just as much input in the Capitol as they do in local planning and zoning boardrooms. Lee and Bense have already spoken publicly about their desire to reduce lobbyists’ sway in Tallahassee and restore civility to the legislative process. Sunshine would be their most powerful tool.
Reproduced courtesy
of the Daytona Beach News-Journal. |
