Will DeSantis sunset Florida’s Sunshine Laws?

While most of us are paying attention to the so-called “Don’t say gay” law and the anti-abortion legislation, Gov. DeSantis’ administration is taking aim at Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws, calling them antiquated.

The Sunshine law was written in 1967 to ensure that information accessed by a public agency is available for inspection. This includes access to the minutes of any meeting by two or more public officials, telephone conversations and total clarity into the relationship of elected officials to projects implemented by a state or local agency.

A law implemented to ensure Floridians’ access and clarity into the operations of individuals working for the people is not antiquated. However, perhaps it has become an inconvenient reality for the DeSantis administration. Obviously, there are plans underway that the administration does not want to share with the public

Florida’s open government has been supported over the years by the state Legislature. In 1991, a decision by the Florida Supreme Court raised questions which made it clear the best way to ensure the public’s right of access to all three branches of government was to secure that right through the Florida Constitution.

The Attorney General’s Office then drafted a constitutional amendment that guaranteed continued openness and reaffirmed the application of open government to the legislative and judiciary branches. This amendment passed in 1992.

Does DeSantis intend to invoke a revision and amend the Florida Constitution, thereby repealing the law?

This should be an issue of grave concern to us all.

– Gayle DeWitt, Miami Beach

EARLY GUIDANCE

I read with pleasure, and personal interest, the wellwritten March 21 op-ed by David Lawrence Jr., Kenneth Hoffman and James Haj, “The Children’s Trust kept its promises to Dade, helping kids reach their full potential.” Spearheaded by Lawrence’s humble and effective foundational efforts, he and the Trust have much for which to be proud and the children and their families much for which to be grateful.

As a child, I benefited from such assistance, guidance and mentorship until high school graduation at 17, thanks to Julius Nierow, former director of the Pride of Judea Children’s Home in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A merit scholarship allowed me to receive a college education and a career as a court reporter. I was recruited from New York to Miami for a position in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. I eventually started a successful court-reporting firm.

Without the headstart and helping hand of the

Pride of Judea Children’s Home, I could have met the fate of so many less fortunate children who do not receive this early assistance.

Kudos to The Children’s Trust. – H. Allen Benowitz, Miami