Welcome,

Sunshine in government is a constitutional right in Florida. That isn’t to say Floridians don’t need to be vigilant about protecting that right. Sometimes, people who attempt to attend public meetings or get copies of public records discover roadblocks to the exercise of these fundamental rights. Fortunately for all of us, there are people who pursue every avenue available to them to ensure that their constitutional rights – and ours – are upheld.

We are also fortunate that there are many elected officials and government employees who understand the importance of transparency in government and who take their open government responsibilities very seriously.

Starting this year, the First Amendment Foundation is introducing a new feature on our website to celebrate those cases in which our constitutional right to open government is preserved and enhanced. Putting the Sunshine in Government will highlight the activities of both citizens and government officials and employees in ensuring that our government remains open and accessible to all.

Transparency Florida:

Senate President Jeff Atwater and the Florida Legislature have recently announced the launch of Transparency Florida (http://www.transparencyflorida.gov), a website designed to provide the public with access to state government spending information. While the site is a work in progress, the Legislature intends to add more information to the site so that it will provide a current picture of the operating budget, as well as daily expenditures by state agencies. Currently, you can find the state operating budget and associated expenditure records for FY 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 are posted on the site. Increased transparency of government spending is something that will benefit all Floridians.

Legislative Records and Meetings:

One of the first exciting developments of the 2010 legislative is SB 440 by Senator Gelber (D), Miami Beach and its companion, HB 241 by Rep. Fitzgerald (D), Sarasota. If approved by the Legislature, and by the voters, the proposed bill will open the legislative process up to more sunshine by amending the constitutional provision relating to access to legislative records and meetings. Although the measure would require approval by the public in the 2010 general election, history shows us that the vast majority of voters support more sunshine in government. Here are links to the bills as currently drafted:

• SB 440 by Senator Gelber (D), Miami Beach
• HB 241 by Rep. Fitzgerald (D), Sarasota

If you have any questions about either bill, please feel free to contact us.

Citizens Making a Difference:

Recently, the First District Court of Appeal upheld the right of two citizens, James Grapski and Michael Canney, to obtain a copy of city commission minutes of the city commission. In a nutshell: On April 11, 2006, the City of Alachua conducted an, and after the polls closed, the Commission met to canvass the election; a city employee prepared minutes of the proceeding. Prior to a Commission meeting scheduled for May 15, Grapski and Canney requested the minutes of the April canvass meeting, but their request was denied, and they were told the minutes would be available only after approved by the Commission at the May 15 meeting. A second request was made on the morning of the meeting, and it, too, was denied. Grapski and Canney weren’t able to obtain copies of the minutes after the Commission meeting, and the two filed suit against the city, claiming a violation of Florida’s open government laws.

After losing at the trial court, Grapski and Canney appealed, and the First District Court of Appeal found that the city’s “. . . unjustified refusal denied any realistic access for the only purpose appellants sought to achieve - review of the minutes before the Commission meeting,.” and noted that a holding otherwise would allow an agency to delay meaningful access to public records, only to disclose them later after the utility of those records had faded. See, Grapski v. City of Alachua, 1D09-509 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 1-21-2010).

And in Walton County Suzanne Harris made two public record requests with Walton County for copies of county officials’ e-mails regarding a particular issue. Because the requests involved access to a large number of records, the county, rather than provide copies of the requested records, offered Harris the opportunity to use its intranet system and a county computer to retrieve the records she wanted. Harris filed suit to enforce her right of access to the public records she had requested.

Prior to trial, the County Commission voted to settle the lawsuit and to provide Ms. Harris with copies of the records requested, even though the county has not admitted any wrong doing. While Harris has yet to receive the requested records, the parties have 30 days after entry of the Final Judgment to meet to determine the most effective way to produce the requested records. Significantly, under the terms of the settlement, the county is required to conduct annual training in public record requirements. Additionally, under the settlement agreement, the County Commission and the individual commissioners are required to use only their official e-mail accounts when transacting official business. While use of private e-mail addresses does not appear to have been an issue in the Walton County case, it has been an issue that the Foundation has been following for some time. Use of private e-mail addresses by public officials and employees to conduct public business is bad practice. Use of personal e-mail addresses makes it more difficult for Floridians to follow actions of their state and local governments. It does not make it impossible, however, as such e-mails are still public records.

Finally, the Settlement Agreement provides that Walton County will pay Ms. Harris’ legal fees and court costs of $148,000. While it is unfortunate that these costs ultimately will be born by the taxpayers of Walton County, hopefully, such costs will not have to be paid for future public record requests.

The First Amendment Foundation has a wide variety of members, including citizens, activists, newspapers, reporters, private investigators, associations, attorneys and law firms. The Foundation would like to highlight some of our members on our website in a new “Member of the Month” series.

The first member we’d like to highlight for our series is Thomas, LoCicero & Bralow, a law firm with offices in Tampa, South Florida and New York. This team of highly skilled and experienced lawyers routinely assists businesses and individuals in diverse litigation matters, including commercial litigation, business torts, trademark and copyright infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, antitrust, unfair competition, and very importantly from the Foundation’s perspective, open government issues.

Thomas, LoCicero & Bralow has been an active supporter of the First Amendment Foundation for quite some time. Carol Jean LoCicero currently sits on the Foundation’s board of directors. Ms. LoCicero also was active in some important litigation during 2009. She was counsel at the circuit and district level when the Associated Press and other Florida news organizations sued the NCAA and Florida State University for not making correspondence public about an academic cheating scandal. The requested information ultimately was ordered to be released. Ms. LoCicero also recently participated in litigation in Walton County, Florida, for compliance with a request for copies of county e-mails and where the requestor’s attorney’s fees and costs of $148,000 were paid.

All lawyers at the firm are “AV” rated (the highest rating conferred by Martindale-Hubbell) and most have been honored as Legal Elite best lawyers in Florida (by Florida Trend magazine) and as Florida Super Lawyers. Thomas, LoCicero & Bralow lawyers also appear in The Best Lawyers in America. Many of the firm’s lawyers served as law clerks to federal district court or court of appeals judges. The firm's lawyers also have served as adjunct professors, guest lecturers, and speakers at the University of Florida, Washington and Lee University, Stetson University College of Law, the University of South Florida, and Nova Southeastern University.