From Tampa Bay Times:
Veteran state legislator Mike Fasano was honored Thursday by the First Amendment Foundation for his efforts improving transparency in government.
Foundation president Barbara Petersen praised Fasano’s long record of ensuring the legislative process remains open and accessible while representing the people’s interests, most notably in the 2012 session.
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Read More… from Rep. Mike Fasano earns open government award
From FlaglerLive.com:
How well does your state legislature give its citizens access to its information? This Sunshine Week, as we reflect on the public’s right to know and the importance of open government, this should be a central question.
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Read More… from Improving Florida legislatures’ transparency
From The Daytona Beach News-Journal:
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The Associated Press and newspapers throughout the state, including The Daytona Beach News-Journal, visited every county’s clerk of court office in recent weeks to see whether each is complying with the law and how much of a delay it is causing in the release of information.
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Read More… from Sunshine Week audit shows public record delays common
Those who rhapsodize about defending the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution (even if all they’ve read is the last half of the Second Amendment) have a good point. Our rights don’t just sit there, inviolate, waiting to be enjoyed at random. They need to be defended around the clock from enemies foreign and domestic.
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From Naples Daily News:
Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, recently sat down with the Daily News editorial board to outline four areas needing improvement in Florida’s Sunshine Laws. She is pushing to have changes made in the coming years and will discuss them further at a free summit March 16 at St. Petersburg College.
Right to Speak
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Read More… from 4 areas need improvement, First Amendment chief says
From Naples Daily News:
(February 19, 2013) — First Amendment advocates are applauding the city of Naples, which delayed and revised a vote on proposed changes to its public records procedures.
But some council members and residents said the city still has work to do to make the process more accessible and affordable.
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Read More… from Naples officials receive kudos for reconsidering public records changes
Editorial from Naples Daily News:
Florida's government-in-the-sunshine laws, long the nation's leader in making sure the public's business is done in public, could use a freshening.
Court rulings, technology and cultural changes have left us lagging. If we want to continue to be a state that people point to — for all the good reasons — when it comes to open government, we need reform.
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Read More… from Phil Lewis: Speaking frankly about open records and sunshine
Editorial from TheLedger.com:
Government is nothing if not records. In Florida, it starts with the state constitution.
Famously, in Florida, records are assumed to be open — although there are exceptions.
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From the Florida First Amendment Foundation:
The First Amendment Foundation will host a Sunshine Summit at St. Petersburg College Saturday, March 16, to discuss reform initiatives in the critical areas of accountability, transparency and access. The summit will be free and open to the public, and representatives from a wide variety of interest groups and non-profits will be invited to participate. Noted author and political commentator Diane Roberts will be the keynote speaker.
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Read More… from Save the date: FAF 3rd Annual Sunshine Summit
