Florida transparency headlines

This article is a list of transparency related news from Florida.

Contents 1 U. of Florida ordered to make student senate meetings public  2011-01-20 10:32:16 2 Experts: FGCU violated open records law when short-listing bidders for solar project  2010-12-06 02:24:13 3 Florida ophthamologist indicted for fraudulent PAC and lobbying scheme  2010-11-24 12:31:16 4 Florida scholarship fund failed to deliver $484,000 to students  2010-11-24 11:50:28 5 FL Courts reject case, denies public opportunity to comment at open meetings  2010-10-28 11:03:06 6 Attorney Fees in Venice Sunshine Case Nears $3 Million  2010-08-25 09:57:38 7 Florida judge rules that NCAA documents are public  2010-08-25 09:56:56 8 Florida circuit judge rules that calls made on public cellphones are public records  2010-08-25 09:52:57 9 Miami FL records held hostage due to financial disputes  2010-07-26 12:41:37 10 Miami Beach city council votes to end $100 flat rate for records requests  2010-07-23 12:00:52

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U. of Florida ordered to make student senate meetings public  2011-01-20 10:32:16

Gainesville, FL This past week a Florida's 8th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Victor Hulslander issued a ruling ordering that the University of Florida open up student senate meetings to the public. The case originated when a UF alumni, Frank Bracco, filed suit, alleging that the University was in violation of the Florida Sunshine Law for failing to make the records of meetings of the student senate available to the public. The University argued that the records and meetings were exempt under FERPA. The court rejected this argument, siding with Bracco. The University has not announced if it is going to appeal the decision.^[1]

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Experts: FGCU violated open records law when short-listing bidders for solar project  2010-12-06 02:24:13

"Florida Gulf Coast University didn’t follow state open records law or its internal bidding procedures when selecting a firm for the school’s highest-profile project, experts said.

But the university insists it did nothing wrong during this summer’s short-listing process to choose a company for its $17 million solar energy farm.

At a September public meeting, FGCU’s eight-member selection committee narrowed the 10 firms that applied for the project by oral vote alone. There were no minutes taken during the meeting and committee members didn’t rank the firms.

Both were required, experts said." Template:2.default

Florida ophthamologist indicted for fraudulent PAC and lobbying scheme  2010-11-24 12:31:16

Dr. Mendelsohn helped oversee three different PAC's in Florida. Most notably, he served as the chief fundraiser for the Florida Medical Association's PAC^[2]..

Dr. Mendelsohn allegedly told contributors to the PAC's that their money would be spent on political and media campaigns. The over two million dollars of contributions that he received, however, were not all spent for this purpose. Some three hundred and fifty thousand dollars was diverted by Dr. Mendelsohn for personal use^[3]. Template:2.default

Florida scholarship fund failed to deliver $484,000 to students  2010-11-24 11:50:28

South Florida Community Blood Centers, based in Lauderhill, funded the scholarship fund. It announced it will try to contact high school graduates dating to 2007 who were supposed to receive the college scholarships, but did not.

The Sun Sentinel used information provided by the blood bank to compile an online list of about 540 students from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties who are eligible for the aid.^[4] Template:2.default

FL Courts reject case, denies public opportunity to comment at open meetings  2010-10-28 11:03:06

Tallahassee, FL The Florida Supreme Court this week rejected an appeal by two Pensacola citizens concerning the rights of citizens to comment during open meetings. In rejecting the decision, the court left an appellate court decision to stand which established that the Florida Open Meetings Law only guaranteed public access and not public participation.^[5]

Attorney Fees in Venice Sunshine Case Nears $3 Million  2010-08-25 09:57:38

The City of Venice, has paid nearly $600,000 in legal fees for violating the Sunshine Law and Public Records Act. It is now being billed for an additional claim for $2.2 million in legal fees from the Plaintiffs' attorneys in the landmark case.^[6]

Lorenzo submitted the bill to Circuit Judge Robert Bennett. If Bennett decides after a September hearing that the fees are reasonable then it will bring the bill upto a landmark $3 million dollars.^[6]

Florida judge rules that NCAA documents are public  2010-08-25 09:56:56

The FSU football team -- sanctioned by the NCAA -- playing Virginia Tech in 2005

TALLAHASSEE, Florida: On October 1, Judge Philip Padovano of the Florida First District Court of Appeal wrote a 26-page ruling which says that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) must release the documents it used in the course of deciding the sanctions it ultimately levied against Florida State University’s athletic department over a cheating scandal. The documents had been requested by several Florida newspapers under the Florida Sunshine Law. The NCAA argued that the documents were private because the NCAA is a private organization. Padovano, however, said the documents must be made public because “The appeal by the university is a matter of public concern. It is not transformed into a private matter merely because the documents the university lawyers used to prepare the appeal reside on a computer owned by a private organization.”^[7]

In August, circuit judge John Cooper ordered the NCAA to release the information. The NCAA appealed Cooper's decision. Padovano's ruling upheld Cooper's decision.^[8] Template:2.default

Florida circuit judge rules that calls made on public cellphones are public records  2010-08-25 09:52:57

New Smyrna Beach, Florida Last week Florida circuit judge Robert Rouse ruled that personal calls made from publicly funded cell phones are in fact public records and cannot be redacted from phone logs which also contain public business. The ruling came in response to a suit filed by Bill of Rights Inc. for the phone records of the New Smyrna Beach police commander, Bill Drossman. ^[9] While the court ordered the release of the majority of the records, the court maintained that certain personal calls on police phones, like calls to family or informants, would fall under other exemptions protecting the police and their informants.^[10]

Miami FL records held hostage due to financial disputes  2010-07-26 12:41:37

Miami, FL Tens of thousands of boxes of public records produced by the city of Miami, FL are being held by "Iron Mountain Information Management" at a warehouse in Broward County. Iron Mountain refuses to release the records, alleging that Miami owed them over $340,000 in fees associated with their contract to store records, which came to an end in 2009. The city alleges that they only owe $22,000 and the city attorney has requested permission to employ any legal means necessary to regain the files. ^[11]

Miami Beach city council votes to end $100 flat rate for records requests  2010-07-23 12:00:52

This story has been deemed Blog worthy!

North Miami Beach, FL This past week, the North Miami Beach city council voted to end a $100 flat rate fee for records request submitted to the Building Department. The flat rate fee runs counter to the Florida Sunshine Law, which only allows reasonable fees to be charged for duplication and copying. The fee had been in place since 2007.^[12]

See also

• Florida transparency headlines from 2008

References

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