Tag Archives: First Amendment Foundation

In a closely watched case about how to apply a constitutional amendment that expanded victims’ rights, a Leon County circuit judge on Thursday agreed to at least temporarily keep secret the identities of two Tallahassee police officers involved in use-of-force incidents.

State laws, including in Florida and neighboring states, are a patchwork of regulations that tend to land on the side of corporate secrecy, more often than not.

Florida is one of the few states that exempts university groups like the University Athletic Association and UF Foundation from public records laws. Their DSO classification identifies them as a private, incorporated businesses, separating them from the universities they serve.

The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee approved a proposal in a 4-3 vote Tuesday that would give judges discretion in deciding whether to award attorney fees in public-records lawsuits.

The Rules Committee voted 5-4 to reject a measure (SB 1364) that would have created a public-records exemption for personal information — such as names, dates of birth, addresses and telephone numbers — of people getting hunting licenses from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A bill was approved by the House panel that gives judges discretion in deciding whether to award attorney fees in public-records lawsuits. The bill was created to stop people who flood governments with public records requests just so they can file lawsuits, but may decrease the state's level of government transparency.