Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release
September 26, 2007
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
McCollum Hosts Sunshine Summit, Promotes His Government Accountability Project
~ Project unveils report from Phase 1, implements website disclosure of contracts ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today addressed the participants of the 2007 Sunshine Summit and unveiled the report on the first phase of his Government Accountability Project (GAP), highlighting the importance of open access to government. The project was launched earlier this year to encourage state and local government entities to provide Florida’s citizens more information and records necessary to hold their government accountable. As part of the project, the Attorney General’s Office has posted the agency’s contracts on the GAP website for public access.
“One of the most important aspects of citizens’ participation in government is having the ability to hold government accountable,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Our Sunshine laws and public records laws are among the foremost in the nation. We should continue striving to encourage more open government in every possible forum.”
The Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Commission on Ethics sponsor the annual Sunshine Summit, an educational seminar designed for state and local governmental officers, employees and attorneys. Led by the Attorney General’s Office, the Commission on Ethics and others, the various sessions will offer participants the opportunity to explore in depth the ethics and open government laws and to ask questions of the experts.
Last Friday, Attorney General McCollum promoted the same message of open government when he spoke at the 2007 Florida Freedom of Information Summit, sponsored by the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information. The Attorney General’s GAP project was developed in partnership with the Brechner Center, whose mission is to further advance the understanding, appreciation and support for freedom of information and education.
The first phase of the project focused on identifying what discrepancies exist between records already available and the information citizens need but have difficulty obtaining. The focus was placed on county governments and school boards, with an emphasis on contracts. The first act of the GAP initiative was to place the outside counsel contracts for the Office of the Attorney General online as an example of what is being sought by the initiative. Additional categories of contracts have since been added.
An additional area of focus conducted by the GAP initiative will be determining the extent to which local government entities have subject matter experts on public records laws who provide training and guidance to employees. Attorney General McCollum reiterated that all government employees should know and understand they have a high level of responsibility to the public requesting these records.
The next phase of the project will be conducting a series of citizen forums to give Floridians a voice in the public records process and the opportunity to discuss records they have requested but may have had trouble accessing. With this information, later phases of the project will include a collaborative effort with state and local government entities to eliminate any discrepancies uncovered by the Attorney General’s Office and the Brechner Center in terms of public records not readily available.
Attorney General McCollum reiterated his strong support for Florida’s open government laws, citing his belief in the principle that government must be accountable to the people of our state. The Government Accountability Project was developed specifically to uphold the public’s constitutional right of access to government. More information is on the Attorney General's website at http://www.myfloridalegal.com/sunshine.
A copy of the report for Phase 1 of the GAP initiative is available here.