Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Below is the Sarasota Herald-Tribune's contribution to Sunshine Sunday.
Other FSNE members may quote or reproduce from it, provided there's
attribution. If there any questions, please reply or call me at
941-957-5223.

Mike Feely
Assistant Page Editor

Perhaps their committee meetings run so long it's unhealthy. Or maybe they belly up to the buffet line with lobbyists a bit too much. Or it could be that Tallahassee, shaded by live oaks laden with Spanish moss, simply causes the mind to wander. Whatever the reason, Florida lawmakers seem especially susceptible to memory loss.

A case in point: Florida's voters have repeatedly shown their enthusiastic support for the state's Government-in-the-Sunshine Laws, which guarantee that the public has largely unfettered access to the documents and proceedings of state and local governments.

The latest ringing endorsement came in November, when 77 percent of Florida's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution limiting the ability of the Legislature to create new exemptions to open- records and open-meetings laws.

But state lawmakers, alas, are forgetful. Year after year, they introduce bills designed to dilute or restrict the public's right to know. Last year, the Legislature approved 16 new public-records exemptions Ñ on top of the whopping 850 they've tacked on through the decades.

There is good news, however. The constitutional amendment approved by voters last fall requires a two-thirds majority vote by the Legislature before any new exemptions can be added. The higher threshold seems to have slowed efforts to alter open-records and open-government protections.

Unfortunately, the ever-resourceful denizens of the state capital are demonstrating new levels of creativity.

In this year's assault on freedom of information, legislators have filed roughly a dozen "shell bills," so named because they contain no specific language but only a vague outline of their intent.

Shell bills are a time-honored but nevertheless devious way to sneak unpopular ideas past opponents. Once the legislative session is in full swing, various watchdog groups are busy tracking a multitude of bills, so the details of an offensive shell bill can easily slide by Ñ unnoticed until it's too late.

As Barbara Petersen of the First Amendment Foundation says, this year's shell game is "antithetical to the democratic process." It's especially reprehensible when it's dealing with open-record and open- government laws.

Today, the Herald-Tribune is joining several dozen Florida newspapers in participating in "Sunshine Sunday," an editorial campaign designed to focus public attention on the value of open government.

The trouble is, the public already seems to recognize, even trumpet, the importance of government in the sunshine. It's Florida lawmakers who continue to hide in the shadows.