No wonder lawmakers don’t want people to know where they live

TALLAHASSEE — It’s starting to make sense. People in the Florida Legislature want to pass a law to keep their home phone numbers and addresses secret from those who pay their salaries. They also want their birth dates confidential. That’s because many are old enough to know better, but they don’t.

Back when public service was seen as more virtuous and everybody had a land-line telephone, politicians proudly listed their numbers in the phone book. If you needed to find your legislator, you looked up the name of Howard Forman, or Toni Jennings, for instance. It went with the job, which is called public office for a reason.

Today’s Legislature treats transparency as if it were a virus. A lot of current lawmakers want to make their home phone numbers and addresses secret, which will make it harder for the public to find them. If you need help filing for unemployment, or your civic club wants to invite a senator as a guest speaker, forget it. Elected officials will have their own witness protection program — in the Sunshine State of all places.

But on second thought, maybe you can see why. The people demanding this secrecy are the same people who want to restrict your First Amendment right to protest, make it harder to vote, trample on home rule powers of cities and counties, hand out more tax breaks to businesses at the expense of working families, and scare college kids into thinking they could lose their Bright Futures scholarships.

No wonder they don’t want their constituents knowing where they are.

The House secrecy bill (HB 1207) easily cleared a committee this week on a 12 to 4 vote as two Democrats joined 10 Republicans. Four Democrats refused to go along: Reps. Kelly Skidmore and Emily Slosberg of Boca Raton and Travaris McCurdy and Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando. Smith predicted “shenanigans” if there’s no way to check whether lawmakers live in the districts they represent.

Explaining their yes votes, freshman Reps. Kevin Chambliss of Homestead and Yvonne Hinson of Gainesville both cited the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and the potential for more trouble. After the siege, Hinson said she erased her contact information from her Facebook page.

“I didn’t want myself or my staff subject to any unsafe reprisals,” Hinson said in debate. “I have children, I have grandchildren, I have relatives and I live alone.”

Hinson’s concern is understandable, but enacting more secrecy won’t make us safer. Floridians have a right to access of information. It’s guaranteed in the state Constitution. No right should ever be taken away so casually.

A couple of lawmakers told anecdotes about getting threats. That’s bad, but it doesn’t justify a public records exemption that will be on the books forever and, history tells us, will only lead to broader exemptions and more secrecy.

Next year, county commissioners will want the same protection, then school board members, then mayors, and eventually dog catchers.

Holding office has privileges and responsibilities, and one of those is having to take a late-night phone call from a distraught constituent who needs help. Any legislator who looks for ways to avoid that responsibility should find another line of work.

During recent Zoom calls as part of Broward Days, several lawmakers enthusiastically gave out their cell phone numbers. Said Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie: “I’ll give you my cell phone. It’s really important that you reach out to us.” That’s the spirit.

The First Amendment Foundation, an open government watchdog group, opposes the bill and notes that if legislators’ home addresses are secret, we won’t know if they live in their districts as the law requires. The bill also shields disclosure of the names and employment information of lawmakers’ spouses, so it removes a valuable safeguard against conflicts of interest.

By law, a new public records exemption must pass by a two-thirds vote of both houses, or by 27 senators and 80 representatives, if all are present. In practice, it means Democrats have just enough votes to stop this bad idea — only if they stick together and vote no.

See, Republicans love it when Democrats vote for their bad ideas. It provides cover for them to claim “bipartisan support.” But it extracts a price, too. When Democrats side with Republicans, the minority party squanders a bit more of the limited relevance it has — and in this case, in the pursuit of secrecy that violates the basic rights of Floridians.