WJCT by Grace Crapps
May 29, 2019
The Florida First Amendment Foundation and media organizations are weighing their options following a dismissed lawsuit against the governor and Cabinet for meeting in Israel this week.
The agenda for the Cabinet meeting was released a week ago, First Amendment Foundation President Barbara Petersen says the meeting was more than “ceremonial.” It covered three important issues to Florida: emergency management, clean water, and how to deal with victims of terror. Since it was held more than 6,000 miles away and livestreamed by only the Florida Channel questions about limited public access arose, which resulted in a lawsuit. Florida Channel is owned by WFSU.
Although a judge dismissed the lawsuit, Petersen says Floridians have a constitutional right to attend a cabinet meeting. She’s floating two options to address the issue.
The first is to refile the complaint seeking declaratory relief.