By Commissioner Fred Brummer
Last time, I discussed Florida’s open meetings and open records law, some of its history and its importance. Florida has led the nation in requiring open meetings and access to documents. In Florida, we call it “Government in the Sunshine.”
More than just a cliché, public support for government in the sunshine led to the matter being imbedded in the State’s Constitution. Article 1, Section 24 of Florida’s Constitution was added in 1992 and memorialized that Florida’s laws will not limit access to government meetings or records except for special circumstances.
That is good policy. I said last month government agencies and employees make decisions everyday regarding you and what you can do with your property. Requiring that those decisions be subject to public scrutiny is best for the people of Florida.
When I first came in contact with open records and meetings, I developed the opinion that these laws were only to help the media and not the general public. My opinion has changed.
Today, I strongly believe that open government is about accountability. Government will perform better under the light of public inspection than it will in the darkness of secrecy.
How do Florida’s Sunshine Laws compare with Federal Freedom of Information statutes? It would be my premise that they are both alike and different at the same time.
As previously stated, Florida’s Constitution mandates that all meetings and records be open unless specifically exempted for one of the limited number of public necessities. Federal open meetings and records are established in statute not the Constitution. The difference to legal scholars may be important. The importance to people is in the difference in application.
Federal open meetings and records law is found in Title 5 of the United States Code, particularly, Sections 552 (open meetings) and 552a (open records). The law is known as the “Freedom of Information Act.” The law is also known as the “Federal Privacy Act.” You have to love a law that can have two titles to evoke images both freedom of information and privacy at the same time.
The “Federal Privacy Act” is not about privacy. The law states that disclosures of information will not be made unless it is by written request. “Written request,” that is a substantial protection! Better yet, the “Written request” requirement has a mere one dozen exceptions.
Be clear that the “Federal Privacy Act” is not about privacy. The only real privacy provision that I have found is in a footnote to Section 7 of Public law 93-579 that indicates that the Federal Government cannot deny you a right, benefit, or privilege because you decline to provide your Social Security number.
Also be clear, that the Federal Freedom of Information Act does not make it easy to get public records. Requests under the Act commonly require one year or more to receive the information. A credible source recently reported the formal denial of access more than ten years after the initial application.
A law that neither provides privacy protection for personal identifying information nor access to information to encourage accountability does not serve the people well. In that light, Florida’s Sunshine laws are far better and brighter than the Federal Freedom of Information Act.
Fred Brummer is the county commissioner for Orange County, Fla., District 2. |
