The Daytona News-Journal
January 13, 2020
OUR VIEW
There’s a condition — a pretty terrible one to have in Florida — known as solar urticaria. Caught outside on a sunny day, sufferers can see hives erupti within minutes; what they have, in plainer terms, is an allergy to sunshine.
We’re not sure how Florida lawmakers are hiding their hives. But it’s evident many of them find sunlight irksome. That’s the most straightforward explanation for the large number of bills filed every legislative session that slam doors and yank curtains closed, hiding information the public has every right to know. Sadly, this year is no different. As of last week, the First Amendment Foundation was tracking nearly 100 bills in the House and Senate, and the vast majority of them shut down public access in one form or another.
We say “the vast majority,” because there are a few that push in the opposite direction. And because we’re natural optimists, we’ll start with those — and hit the bad ones tomorrow.