State’s annual public records attack: The good, the bad and the ugly

The Florida Legislature’s annual attack on the public’s right to know is over for another year.

All that stands between less sunshine and lengthening shadows is Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the power to veto exemptions to laws that erode Florida residents’ constitutional right of access to government.

DeSantis should stand on the side of openness and veto the worst of these legislative actions.

Doing so would send a clear and powerful signal to the legislative branch that exemptions to public records laws are not to be considered lightly, and that any exemption should be in the public’s best interest and supported by convincing and corroborating evidence and not vague anecdotes.

When it comes to public records, here are examples of the good, the bad and ugly of 2019.

The good: Lawmakers exempted from disclosure voter registration applications of 16- and 17-year-olds, who register before they turn 18. This program encourages young people to vote and the same information will be public when they become voters. On the session’s last day, senators amended the bill (HB 281) to exempt adult voter registration applicants’ past felony convictions, and whether their voting rights were restored, to prevent the state from creating a public registry of felons following passage of Amendment 4. A criminal history is still available from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. DeSantis signed the bill on Thursday.

The bad: The Legislature expanded the legal definition of “home address” in existing public records exemptions for police officers, judges and other government workers by adding more than 30 separate definitions, including the legal property address, GPS coordinates, or anything that could determine an address. For buyers and sellers of homes, this broad new exemption will complicate the work of real estate agents and title companies, and eliminates a potential check against conflicts of interest by officials. Sadly, DeSantis has already signed this exemption into law (SB 248). Not a hopeful sign. The ugly: In a dramatic shift in public policy, legislators added language to a major criminal justice bill (HB 7125) that requires an automatic administrative seal if charges are dropped or a person is acquitted or found not guilty. No application is required, and criminal history records aren’t reviewed before being sealed, the First Amendment Foundation said in a letter to DeSantis urging a veto, and there are no limits on how often a person’s records can be sealed. So it’s possible that a person who is arrested multiple times for the same or similar crime can have multiple records administratively sealed, such as a job applicant at a child care center. The Foundation called that “a serious and real threat to public safety.”

Legislators are tireless in trying to block citizen access to government. One example from this session that did not pass was HB 635, an exemption for home addresses and phone numbers of current and former judicial assistants and family members, like the exemption that applies to judges. The sponsor, Rep. Elizabeth Fetterhoff, R-DeLand, used ambiguous arguments to justify this loophole, telling House members that courtroom employees face the wrath of unhappy litigants.

“They’re being harassed in the office,” she said, without citing a single specific case. “Basically, what it comes down to is, we need to protect that personal information.”

Tallahassee needs more people who want to protect the public’s right to know.

SUN SENTINEL