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Florida public records available to all citizens the right kind of people!

It's good to know that our public officials are doing their darnedest to keep the details of their free anytime minutes out of the hands of terrorists. (emphasis within quoted material is mine)

Public officials, ignorant of the law or paralyzed by suspicion, regularly thwart citizens exercising their constitutional right to inspect public records, a statewide audit has found.

While journalists and attorneys enjoy the benefits of Florida's open government laws, the same rights are not always granted to Florida's other residents.

During a week in January, the Herald-Tribune and 29 other Florida newspapers tested how officials responded to a routine request to inspect records. Reporters and other news media employees posing as citizens visited 234 local agencies in 62 of Florida's 67 counties.

Overall, 57 percent of the agencies audited complied with the public records law. The rest made unlawful demands or simply refused to turn over the records.

Public officials lied to, harassed and even threatened volunteers who were using a law designed to give citizens the power to watch over their government. In six counties, volunteers were erroneously told that the documents they wanted didn't exist.

One volunteer was almost arrested.

Many officials demanded to know who the volunteers represented and what they planned to do with the information -- clear violations of the open records law, which ensures anonymity when desired.

"Basically, it's not the government's business why a member of the public wants a record," said Pat Gleason, general counsel for the state's attorney general. "The desire of government to impose procedural roadblocks … directly conflicts with a citizen's right of access."

Instead of responding quickly to their constituents, many officials raised needless bureaucratic requirements, or bounced volunteers from one office to the next in a fruitless hunt for documents.

At nearly half the agencies audited, someone looking to pick up an easily accessible document during a lunch break would have walked away empty-handed.

For a state that prides itself on being a leader in open government, the results are disappointing, said state Attorney General Charlie Crist.
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Since 1909, Florida law has guaranteed its citizens access to public records. In 1993, the right was written into the Florida Constitution, one of only a handful of states to adopt such a powerful protection for citizens.

Today's law says the public can inspect any document generated by the government, unless it carries a specific statutory exemption. That includes written communications, investigation results, financial records and personnel files.

The audit volunteers asked for documents that should have been easy for officials to retrieve: 911 call logs from sheriff's offices, city manager job reviews, county administrator e-mails and school superintendent cell phone bills.
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At many agencies, asking for a document immediately sparked suspicion.

Roger Desjarlais, the Broward County administrator, threatened a volunteer by saying, "I can make your life very difficult."

After insisting that the volunteer give his name, Desjarlais used the Internet to identify the volunteer, find his cell phone number and call him after work hours.

In an interview after the audit, Desjarlais denied that he threatened or tried to intimidate the volunteer, who is a reporter with SNN-Channel 6 in Sarasota.

"I just told him, you have not asked me for the information in a way that legally requires me to give it to you," Desjarlais said. He refused to explain what steps he requires to turn over documents.

Desjarlais defended his actions, saying that the volunteer raised suspicion when he declined to explain who he was. Officials across the state had similar misgivings about volunteers who came into their offices.

They cited a number of arbitrary reasons for their suspicions, including the volunteers' hair length, casual dress and, in one case, "the look in his eyes."
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Some government agencies tried to justify their suspicions by citing heightened security concerns brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In a post-audit interview, Taylor County Superintendent Oscar Howard said his district was hesitant to produce his cell phone bill because the volunteer wouldn't give his name.

"He could have been a terrorist," Howard said. "We have to ensure the safety of children."

Howard couldn't explain how a terrorist might use his cell phone bill to harm children.
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When a volunteer asked Hamilton County Superintendent Charles Blalock for a copy of his cell phone bill, Blalock demanded to know the volunteer's name.

He insisted that he would produce the bill only after he knew who the volunteer was, where he lived and why he wanted the bill.

"I'm a public official. Our records are public. But we need to know which public we are dealing with," Blalock told the volunteer.