TAMPA — Open meetings, public records and Florida’s Sunshine Law will be discussion topics at a seminar sponsored by The Tampa Tribune.
A First Amendment Foundation Sunshine seminar on Oct. 22 will feature foundation President Barbara Petersen speaking on open meetings and public records laws in Florida. Local media law expert Jim Lake also is expected to speak.
Petersen said information on public records and the Sunshine Law is important for all Floridians, not only journalists. The foundation operates a help hotline, she said, and most of the calls it receives are from the public.
“Citizens are pretty actively engaged in their government, more frequently at the local level,” she said. “Everyone really relies on access to government information; they just don’t always realize it. … And a lot of people take it for granted that you can walk into city hall and say, ‘I want to see the city’s budget.’ ”
Petersen said the seminars are “designed to inform everyone, regardless of what you do.”
The event is open to the public and costs $30. Members of the Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters pay $20, and students with a valid ID can register for $10.
The seminar is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at The Tampa Tribune, 202 S. Parker St.