FSNE - Sunshine Sunday

TALLAHASSEE — Now-public information on crime lab employees, doctors' medical malpractice reports and domestic violence fatalities might be tougher to gain access to under several open records exemption bills filed in the Legislature.

Florida's First Amendment Foundation is tracking these bills and about 70 others in an annual effort to catalogue potential laws that might weaken the state's open records law. Forty are proposals to add exemptions onto the law.

Although Florida is generally recognized to have some of the most liberal open records laws in the nation according to a survey released Sunday, state newspaper editors are sponsoring the third annual Sunshine Sunday project to increase awareness about the public's right to know.

Sunshine Sunday was started in Florida in 2002 to bring attention to changes in the state's public records laws in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"You do see the issue of national security being used as a very convenient excuse to not release information and in some cases re-classify information that is already out there," said Debra Hernandez, national coordinator for the Sunshine Sunday project.

In Florida, several First Coast legislators filed bills that showed up on the First Amendment Foundation's watch list. One, filed by Rep. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, would exempt information on state-sponsored vaccine research.

Argenziano said the bill is intended to protect research information from being stolen by competitors.

"That bill is problematic just because we're talking about a lot of public money involved in this venture — this is a government oversight issue," said Adria Gonzalez, director of the First Amendment Foundation.

Gonzalez said the most worrisome bill for her group is a proposal that would make it more difficult for patients to obtain information on doctors' self-reported medical mistakes or problems.

"It automatically states these reports are not public records," Gonzalez said. "Then it puts these hoops you have to jump through as a patient to get through to these reports."

Sen. Bert Saunders, R-Naples, said the bill is intended to prohibit third parties, like lawyers, from accessing the information.

A study released by the University of Florida on Friday said Florida, along with North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri and Indiana provide the best access to public records.

Bill Chamberlain, a professor at the University of Florida who helped put together the study, said most state residents don't understand why access to government documents are important. He said open records laws combat secrecy and provide oversight.

"Daily news stories don't tell people where they get their information and under what laws, so it's important we have a vehicle that lets us know," Chamberlain said.

Changes on the way?

Following is a look at several bills being tracked in Tallahassee that would curb Florida's open-record laws:

-- HB 1135 by Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Green Cove Springs. Restricts public access to information collected during collection practice investigations by the state Office of Financial Regulation.

-- HB 1591 by Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs. Restricts public access to information about voter registration applicants and absentee ballot requests.

-- SB 1810 by Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, D-Tamarac. Restricts public access to court orders that appoint court monitors and to monitor reports.

-- SB 2218 by Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples. Implements a constitutional amendment approved by voters last November that restricts public access to self-reported medical malpractice files by medical professionals.

-- SB 2220 by Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville. Retroactively restricts public access to records of children enrolled in the state's voluntary prekindergarten program.

-- HB 217 by Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami. Creates an exemption for photographs, Social Security numbers, home addresses and telephone numbers of current or former crime laboratory or medical examiner's office employees.

-- SB 654, Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne. Allows arrest records of minors or adults who were mistakenly arrested to be exempt.

Reproduced courtesy of the Florida Times-Union.