Published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability
Florida Republicans undermine state’s public records laws again | Editorial
Tampa Bay Times/Opinion
If you believe his Republican colleagues in the Florida Legislature, the only way to adequately protect Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an apparent presidential run is to tear up the state’s public records laws.
Without citing any threats past or present, the lawmakers want to bar any request for records that could show where the governor is traveling, regardless of who he’s with, why he’s traveling or if the public is paying for it. In an interesting twist, they have decided to make the unprecedented ban retroactive, presumably to protect the governor from enemies with time machines.
And the lawmakers just added a wrinkle that makes the bill even more unfortunate: a provision that would prevent the public from learning who outside of government has been visiting the governor’s mansion. You know, people like big-money donors and others who might be seeking political favors. Nothing to worry about there.