Florida has among the broadest open-government laws in the country aimed at protecting citizens’ access to public records and meetings of state and local government authorities. Ahead of the 11th annual Sunshine Week March 13-19, we explore the history of Florida’s Sunshine Law and bills in the 2016 state legislative session challenging open government. Those measures include proposed exemptions of juvenile criminal history records, the identities of witnesses to felony crimes, voter registration information and financial information as ‘trade secrets’ to name a few. We’ll explore when and why public record exemptions are a good or bad idea and examine how Florida enforces its open-government policies.
Guests:
Barbara Petersen, President of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation