Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release
April 20, 2007
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
McCollum Announces Developments in Open Government Initiative
~ Comprehensive plan developed for GAP project, next steps outlined ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced the plan of action his office has developed to launch the next part of his Government Accountability Project (GAP), an initiative to encourage state and local government entities to provide Florida’s citizens more information and records necessary to hold their government accountable. The project was developed earlier this year in partnership with the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, whose mission is to further advance the understanding, appreciation and support for freedom of information and education.
“Floridians should experience easy access to the information necessary to hold their government accountable,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Government exists to serve its people. We will continue to work to ensure our citizens have the tools to carry out this process.”
Following a meeting with Professor Sandra Chance, executive director of the Brechner Center, Attorney General McCollum announced that the Attorney General’s Office and the Brechner Center will work to determine what discrepancies exist between records already available and the information citizens need but have difficulty obtaining. The focus will be placed on county governments and school boards, with an emphasis on contracts. The first act of the GAP initiative was to place online the outside counsel contracts for the Office of the Attorney General and will continue online access projects.
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 findings from the first phase of the project are expected to be announced this Fall in conjunction with the Attorney General’s annual Sunshine Summit, a program designed for government officials to learn about sunshine law requirements.
Citizen forums are being planned 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 available here.