Proposal seeks to speed up public records

Alex Andrade [voteandrade.com]

Government agencies would have three days to respond to public records requests, provide estimates of how long it would take to produce the records or deny the requests, under a measure approved Jan. 21 by a House panel.

Sponsor Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, told the House Government Operations Subcommittee that the bill (HB 437) is intended to improve the way local governments and state agencies respond to records requests and provide “more guardrails” to “make sure that everybody understands what they do and need to have done to be compliant with” the state’s Sunshine Law. Under the bill, agencies that do not comply with the three-day deadline would not be allowed to charge for the records.

Andrade, a lawyer, wrangled last year with Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office when he sought records related to an investigation into potential wrongdoing by a nonprofit associated with Hope Florida, First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature public-assistance program.

Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, told the House panel Wednesday that his group has been swamped with complaints from people whose records requests are being ignored or who are being charged exorbitant fees by government agencies. As an example, Block pointed to a request a person submitted to the Florida Department of Transportation for documents pertaining to artwork in a crosswalk that had been painted over. The agency said 115 records fit the request and charged the requester $34.62 for the records. The requester paid the invoice on Oct. 22 but “to date, he has received nothing, no records, no explanation and no response to repeated follow-up emails,” Block said.

A newspaper made a similar request for the same information but received no response until the publication filed a lawsuit, after which the agency said a single record matched the request.

“So, one requester is told 115 records exist and receives none. Another receives one record only after litigation is initiated. This is not an anomaly. This is how the system, too often, functions today,” Block said.

Andrade’s bill came amid broader complaints from news outlets and others about delays or nonresponses when seeking records from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and Uthmeier’s office.

“They don’t produce public records unless it’s somehow beneficial to them,” Andrade told The News Service of Florida after the House panel unanimously approved the bill. “The governor’s office and attorney general’s office think they’re above the law. It’s a real shame the bill is even necessary,” he added.

The proposal would need approval from three other House panels before it could go to the full House. A similar Senate bill (SB 770) has not been heard in committees.