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Public Records Request & Email Records

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Q. There’s been much said in the press all over the state lately about public record requests and email records. What is your opinion?

A. Florida’s Constitution and state law say the public is allowed to look at records, attend meetings, and be heard on issues of public policy. Public Records are any document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film, sound recording or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic or means of transmission, made or received in connection with the official business of any agency.   Even letters we may write to our government are public records available to anyone who asks.
 
Florida’s Sunshine Law was passed in 1967. County Commissioners, City Commissioners, and School Board Members must adhere to the Sunshine Law. The Law is equally applicable to elected and appointed boards. The three basic requirements are: 1) meetings of public boards or commissions must be open to the public; 2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given, and 3) minutes of the meetings must be taken. The Public has a right to view public records, and the request can only be limited if a statutory exemption exists. There are limits to the law and some documents aren’t public, but if you’re told you can’t receive a record, you must be told why. 
 
On email, it’s a violation of the Sunshine Law to discuss official business via email, and one can’t use private email accounts to discuss public business. Any document where public business is discussed is a public record. With today’s new technologies, such as BlackBerry PIN messaging, text messaging, and social networking as in Facebook, elected officials must be diligent and educated about what the law requires to ensure compliance.
 
Although the Clerk’s Office isn’t a board bound by the Sunshine Law, I take every public record request seriously. My office receives requests for public records daily, and our response is quick.
We do have exemptions such as juvenile and adoption records.
 
The Florida First Amendment Foundation has an informative website at www.floridafaf.org. Barbara Peterson, its President, was quoted in a recent News Herald article saying “It doesn’t matter whose AOL account you’re using... if you’re a government entity and you’re discussing public business, those documents are going to be public record.”
 
If you have any questions or comments about this column, please forward them to: Marcia Johnson, Clerk of the Court, 33 Market Street, Ste. 203, Apalachicola, Florida, 32320, or by email to: mmjohnson@franklinclerk.com.

If you have questions or comments about this blog, please forward them to: Marcia Johnson, Clerk of the Court, 33 Market St., Ste. 203, Apalachicola, Florida, 32320, or by email to: mmjohnson@franklinclerk.com.

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