Dr. Sandra Chance, "Florida Sunshine Laws
Under Attack"
From http://brechner.org/news_editorial_attack.asp
"Editorial by Dr. Sandra Chance. Florida's
government-in-the-sunshine laws came close to being the next casualty in
the U.S. war on terrorism."
While the U.S. Congress was busy passing the new USA Patriot
Act, which allows the government to establish secret courts,
collect all kinds of private information, keep even more secrets,
and suspend important parts of the Bill of Rights, Florida's
legislature was working hard not to be outdone. In the process,
Florida's government-in-the-sunshine laws came close to being
the next casualty in the U.S. war on terrorism during the last
special session. Unfortunately, many of the measures which
didn't pass in December are currently being considered by our
state legislators.
No one disputes the need, in these difficult and uncertain times,
for state and local governments to take extra security measures
to protect the public health and safety. However, Florida's
legislature considered what could only be called Draconian
measures that went far beyond any legitimate need to safeguard
the public interest. Not only were many of the proposals contrary
to Florida's tradition of openness, they were hastily considered,
rarely debated and passed with blinding speed.
In November, Florida's Legislature was called into a special
session to deal with a projected budget deficient. Legislators,
however, added a number of new exemptions to Florida's
Government-in-the-Sunshine laws to an already full agenda.
This came as a surprise as the state's Sunshine laws already
contain many safeguards to prohibit disclosure of sensitive police
intelligence and security plans. Before the special session began,
law enforcement officials had the means to withhold information
that might compromise investigations or endanger the public.
Despite this, at least a dozen bills were introduced during the
special session and the Senate changed its rules to allow for
secret meetings. The new rule authorizes the state's 40 senators
to meet in secret to discuss terrorism prevention. The initial
proposal by the Senate Rules Committee would have allowed the
Senate president to call secret meetings and keep senators'
votes secret as well. The new rule requires the Senate to keep a
record of any closed meeting. However, the Senate president
could seal the records and they would remain sealed until a
Senate president authorized their release. According to reports
on the voice vote, the rule changes passed almost unanimously,
with only one vote against them.
This rule allows closed Senate sessions for the first time in more
than 30 years and flies in the face of Florida's constitutional
amendment guaranteeing open meetings and records. Obviously,
senators need to be reminded that our state Open Meetings Law
came as a direct result of the Senate's closed meetings to discuss
reapportionment in the 1960s.
Reapportionment will dominate the next legislative session.
Floridians will be watching closely. That is, if the Senate doesn't
change its rules again to make those meetings secret, too.
The Senate also considered bills that would have given law
enforcement officials broad exemptions to the state's public
records laws and give the state police more powers to detain
suspected terrorists. In addition, the Senate seriously considered
a bill that would have allowed state police to temporarily detain a
material witness for up to four days and shield its actions from
the Public Records Law.
Much to its credit, the House did not amend its meeting rules. In
addition, House Speaker Tom Feeney encouraged
representatives to resist making significant changes to the open
government laws in the rushed special session. Fortunately, for
the most part, reason prevailed over political maneuvering and
pandering to public fear. As a result, the House passed four new
exemptions to the Public Records Law.
The Governor quickly signed the bills into law. The new laws
make secret the location of drugs stockpiled to counter
bioterrorists attacks, emergency security plans for hospitals and
state buildings, security system plans, and police requests for
records from other agencies. For the most part, the new laws
clarify and expand existing exemptions to explicitly cover security
issues.
Given the current climate, it's understandable that legislators,
working hard to protect citizens, would support any measure that
might ensure security and prevent further terrorists attacks.
However, many of the measures introduced and quickly passed
were radical reactions to an obviously difficult situation. One has
to wonder whether some of the state's legislators were hiding
behind the understandable public fear of terrorism as they
attempted to gut one of the country's strongest Sunshine laws.
Many of these bills will be considered within the next few weeks.
Legislators were unable to provide any evidence that access truly
compromises safety. In reality, just the opposite may be true.
Access to public records since the Sept. 11 attacks has given the
public valuable insight into governmental actions, where and how
to strengthen state and national security systems, and
emergency and public health response programs. This information
is vital to ensuring our ability to hold our government officials
accountable for the decisions they made before Sept. 11 and the
decisions they'll make in the wake of the terrorists' attacks.
Come to think of it, maybe that's what some legislators are afraid
of.
A revealing freedom of information series written by seven New
Jersey newspapers won this year's Joseph L. Brechner Center for
Freedom of Information award, according to Sandra Chance,
director of the Brechner Center. The series, titled "Public Access
Denied," detailed the abysmal compliance rate with the state's
public record law.
The series will be recognized at the 15th Annual Brechner Center
for Freedom of Information award celebration Nov. 20. Two
reporters, Jason Method and Frank Kummer, will accept the
$3,000 award for the Gannett New Jersey papers. The New
Jersey investigation, one of the largest tests of public records
compliance in the nation, documents a "cult of secrecy" which
leaves citizens at the mercy of government officials. The
newspapers sent more than 80 surveyors to 600 governmental
bodes to see how ordinary citizens were treated by their public
servants. They found that government officials in New Jersey
routinely violated the state's Open Public Records Act. For
example, the series reported that obviously public records, such
as budgets, payrolls and overtime reports, were closed off to
ordinary citizens more often than not.
"Officials can no longer ignore these
findings and dismiss them as isolated incidents. Violations of the
law are rampant everywhere and this series proves the extent of
the problem in New Jersey," Chance said. The seven papers that
participated in the award-winning series were: the Asbury Park
Press, the Courier-News, the Courier Post, The Daily Record, the
Daily Record, the Home News Tribune, and the Ocean County
Observer.
New Jersey has one of the weakest public records law in the
country, according to Chance of the Brechner Center. ...
Within three months of the series, the governor
publicly supported a new public access reform bill, which has
passed the New Jersey Assembly and is pending before the
state's senate. ...
A similar project, focusing on Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act received an honorable mention.
Indiana Newspapers Win 1999 FOI Award
November 15, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sandra F. Chance, Director, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
(352) 392-2273
GAINESVILLE, FL-- A ground-breaking freedom of information series written by seven Indiana newspapers won this year's Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information award, according to Sandra Chance, director of the Brechner Center. The five-part series, titled "The State of Secrecy: Indiana flunks the test on access," detailed the abysmal compliance rate with the state's public record law.
The series will be recognized at the 14th Annual Brechner Center
for Freedom of Information award celebration Nov. 15. Kyle
Niederpruem, a reporter for one of the papers and the president
of the Society of Professional Journalists, accepted the award.
The papers designated the Indiana Freedom of Information
organization, FOIndiana, as the recipient of the $3,000 prize.
The Indiana investigation documents how many government
officials routinely violate the law by refusing to release public
records. For example, the series reported that almost
three-fourths of the state's sheriff's departments refused to
release crime reports. In addition, the papers were able to
document and report the way people who requested public
records were threatened. According to the study, they were lied
to, harassed, repeatedly questioned and told that court orders
and subpoenas were necessary before the records could be
released.
"This series represents the best example of how newspapers can
work with private citizens to learn more about their government,"
according to Chance. "It's one thing to hear the stories about
how citizens are denied access to records. It's another thing to
actually go out there and prove what we've long suspected in a
scientific, documented way.
"Officials can no longer ignore these findings and dismiss them as
isolated incidents. Violations of the law are rampant everywhere
and this series proves the extent of the problem in Indiana,"
Chance said.
The seven papers that participated in the award-winning series
were: The Evansville Courier, The Journal Gazette, South Bend
Tribune, The Indianapolis Star/News, The Star Press, Tribune
Star, and The Times of Northwest Indiana....
The series also revealed that many public officials were ignorant
of the laws and that little was being done to train them. After the
series ran, Indiana's governor created a public access counselor
position. The counselor answers questions about the law and
issues advisory opinions. So far, a large majority of requests
have come from the public, despite repeated comments by public
officials that this is only a "media" issue, Theobald said.
The project was lauded by the judges for its excellent writing and
research, as well as its impact and innovativeness. ...
Another judge congratulated the papers for their "sober, detailed
and ultimately frightening look at how government officials at all
levels blatantly disregarded the Freedom of Information law as if
it were nothing more than junk mail."
Date Rape ad:
Public access laws won’t tell you her date’s
GPA...[image]
but they will tell you he was convicted of
rape.
Access to public information is a basic right
in Florida. We have a long and rich
tradition of open government. Our Constitution
and state “Sunshine Laws”
guarantee us the right to attend public meetings
and see public records so we can
make the best decisions for ourselves, our
families, and our communities.
However, each year the Florida Legislature
passes new exemptions to these
laws, sealing more records. Some exemptions
are necessary. Many are not.
Public access laws are based on the democratic
principle that the more we know,
the better decisions we can make. So, the
next time you hear about a new exemption,
ask if it will help you make a more informed
decision.
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
Florida Society of Newspaper Editors
Nursing home abuse ad:
Public access laws could have prevented his
mistreatment...[image]
but nursing home abuse records are now sealed.
Access to public information is a basic right
in Florida. We have a long and rich
tradition of open government. Our Constitution
and state “Sunshine Laws”
guarantee us the right to attend public meetings
and see public records so we can
make the best decisions for ourselves, our
families, and our communities.
However, each year the Florida Legislature
passes new exemptions to these
laws, sealing more records. Some exemptions
are necessary. Many are not.
Public access laws are based on the democratic
principle that the more we know,
the better decisions we can make. So, the
next time you hear about a new exemption,
ask if it will help you make a more informed
decision.
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
Florida Society of Newspaper Editors
Surgery ad:
Public access laws won’t tell you why this
woman needed surgery... [image]
but they will tell you the name of the surgeon
at fault.
Access to public information is a basic right
in Florida. We have a long and rich
tradition of open government. Our Constitution
and state “Sunshine Laws”
guarantee us the right to attend public meetings
and see public records so we can
make the best decisions for ourselves, our
families, and our communities.
However, each year the Florida Legislature
passes new exemptions to these
laws, sealing more records. Some exemptions
are necessary. Many are not.
Public access laws are based on the democratic
principle that the more we know,
the better decisions we can make. So, the
next time you hear about a new exemption,
ask if it will help you make a more informed
decision.
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
Florida Society of Newspaper Editors