AN OPEN-GOVERNMENT group still seeks Florida lawmakers’ text messages from the 2017 legislative session.

TALLAHASSEE — An opengovernment group is stepping into a fight over public records, asking legislative leaders to produce text messages from lawmakers and update their policies for retaining and keeping electronic records.

On Friday, the First Amendment Foundation sent a letter to House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, asking them to produce texts sent by lawmakers. The texts were first requested by Matt Dixon, bureau chief of Politico Florida.

“It is incumbent on each government official — in this case, each legislator subject to the request — to make a search for responsive records on his or her personal device,” FAF president Barbara Petersen wrote. The Orlando Sentinel is a member of FAF.

State law requires text messages discussing government business to be available to the public whether they’re sent on a government-issued cellphone or personal device.

Petersen also asked the Legislature to consider using email and text management software that would automatically preserve text messages. She pointed to Orange County, which had its own “textgate” situation in 2013, as an example of a local government already using such software.

Four Orange County commissioners and Orange Mayor Teresa Jacobs each had to pay $500 fines for deleting text messages during a fight over a proposed paid sick leave referendum in 2012.

Petersen’s letter follows a letter from Politico lawyers to Corcoran and Negron, which stated that some lawmakers said they had no text messages related to the request, despite other lawmakers producing texts that showed they did. Dixon requested text messages from April 27-28, May 1 and May 3 from 18 legislators and two legislative staffers, covering the final days of the session. Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, produced texts showing messages from Corcoran, and Sen. Rob Bradley, RFleming Island, though they both said they had no responsive texts.

“It is therefore clear that at least some of the Officials either do not understand the nature of Politico’s request, or have not conducted a sufficient search of their records,” states the letter from Al-Amyn Sumar, Politico’s lawyer.