Coalition Pushes For Open Government, Ethics Reforms

April 17, 2014

A coalition of groups called Wednesday for lawmakers to approve bills that would overhaul open-records and ethics laws before the legislative session ends in little more than two weeks.

The organizations — including the First Amendment Foundation, Common Cause Florida, Integrity Florida, the Citizens Awareness Foundation and The Tea Party Network —said the House should pass a counterpart (HB 1151) to a measure approved by the Senate (SB 1648) strengthening the state’s open-government rules.

The bill would create laws mirroring several court decisions, including one barring officials from demanding that citizens put requests for records in writing. Also, the bill would require open-government training for government employees.

It comes as the Legislature is on pace to boost the total number of exemptions from open-records laws to almost 1,100, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation.

“It’s a concern for us that the Legislature is very willing to create all of these exceptions to the constitutional right of access, but drags its heels on any attempt to improve our open-government laws,” Petersen said Wednesday at a press conference.

The coalition also pressed lawmakers to approve a handful of ethics bills, including one measure (SB 846) that would bar local elected officials from working as legislative lobbyists in the future — though they would be able to represent their agencies at the Capitol. The bill also would require independent special districts to set up lobbyist-registration systems.

by The News Service of Florida
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida is a member of the First Amendment Foundation.)

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News