Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMay 30, 2017

The First Amendment Foundation is weighing in on a wide-sweeping education bill, asking Gov. Rick Scott to veto the measure when it gets to his desk. In a letter to Scott on Tuesday, Barbara Petersen, the president of the First Amendment Foundation, said the organization’s concerns “relate only to the lack of transparency in the […]

Jim RosicaApril 20, 2017

Lawmakers on Thursday unanimously passed a compromise measure on winners of public records lawsuits collecting attorney fees, sending the bill to Gov. Rick Scott. The House passed the Senate bill (SB 80) on a 115-0 vote. The legislation requires judges to award attorney fees if they find an agency broke the public records law and a “requestor” […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 6, 2017

A bill giving judges some discretion over whether to award attorney’s fees in public records cases cleared its second committee hearing Monday, but not before being amended in an attempt to alleviate opponents concerns. The bill (SB 80), sponsored by Sen. Greg Steube, aims to give judges discretion in whether they should award fees to […]

Scott PowersMarch 6, 2017

Two new bills to re-broaden bans on the public release of death videos could prevent evidence of a case such as Martin Lee Anderson‘s from ever coming to light, and could also prevent disclosures in controversial police shooting cases, First Amendment Foundation President Barbara Petersen said Monday. Petersen is raising anew concerns she raised earlier […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJuly 4, 2016

Whether it’s at the ballpark or the beach, setting off fireworks or firing up the grill, Floridians will celebrate the July 4 holiday in style. The National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend $71.34 per household on average on food for barbecues. The organization — which has been conducting its annual Independence Day survey since 2003 […]

Scott PowersJune 11, 2016

There is a war on against Florida’s open records law and the press and public are losing, investigative reporter Carol Marbin Miller warned newspaper journalists Friday. Marbin Miller, a senior investigative reporter at the Miami Herald and former investigative reporter at the St. Petersburg Times, called for action at the annual awards luncheon of the Florida Society […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMay 24, 2016

Make sure you understand the law. That’s the message Sen. Wilton Simpson sent to the business community Monday. In a memo to business leaders, the Trilby Republican said businesses that have contracts with local or state government “need to understand the change that was made to the public records law.” Under a new law signed […]

Gary FineoutMay 13, 2016

The Seminole Tribe of Florida, owner of Florida’s largest casinos, is trying to get a federal judge to block the publication of information related to a trial that could upend their businesses and to seal a key deposition until it can be redacted. Tribal attorneys this week filed an emergency motion seeking to seal a […]

Associated PressApril 14, 2016

Florida government agencies that lose lawsuits filed by people seeking access to public records will have to pay plaintiffs’ attorney fees, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a Jacksonville-based case. And it doesn’t matter if the agency didn’t know it was breaking Florida’s public records laws when it denied or limited access to records, […]

Associated PressMarch 16, 2016

When the editor of a gay-oriented newspaper in Florida requested records that he thought should be public, he cast a wide net, asking that the email of every employee of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office be searched for specific gay slurs over a five-month period. The sheriff’s office initially told Jason Parsley that his request […]

Tag: Barbara Petersen

First Amendment Foundation calls on Rick Scott to veto education bill

Lawmakers approve attorney fee tweak to public record law

Controversial public records bill clears second Senate panel

Barbara Petersen: Exempting ‘death videos’ could have hidden Martin Anderson case

Independence Day brought to you by these lobbyists and political associations

‘War on public records,’ warns top scribe Carol Marbin Miller

Wilton Simpson urges contractors to study updated public records law

Seminole Tribe trying to stop publication of financial info

Florida Supreme Court: Board must pay in public records case

Obtaining police emails can take months, cost thousands