Why do some public record requests to Florida agencies take months to obtain? Perhaps @GovRonDeSantis is “reviewing” them first. A 🧵…. 1/9
clickorlando.com/news/politics/…
This newly uncovered log obtained by #News6 reveals how state agencies send hundreds of requested public records to @GovRonDeSantis for “review”, where they can remain for weeks or months. 2/9
Batches of records associated with one @GovRonDeSantis attorney were returned to state agencies during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday weeks. Some had been there 9+ months. 3/9
Weeks would sometimes pass between when records associated with another @GovRonDeSantis attorney were returned. Then 12 were returned in bulk on a single day (including one that had been there 3+ months) 4/9
“Whether it’s intentional or not, it has the obvious effect of unreasonably delaying the constitutional right of access to public records,” said Michael Barfield of @FLCTRGA. 5/9
.@GovRonDeSantis did not respond to any questions about this log. Neither did @FL_Corrections, @fdlepio, @FloridaDMS, @HealthyFla, @MyFLFamilies or @FLSecofState 6/9
Florida Attorney General @AGAshleyMoody - who proclaims to “safeguard Florida's pioneering Government-in-the-Sunshine laws” - also did not comment on the log or the governor’s practice of “reviewing” public records myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main… 7/9
The log shows public record requests from @news6wkmg @wjxt4 @10TampaBay @WCJB20 @orlandosentinel @MiamiHerald @TB_Times @pbpost @TDOnline @SunSentinel @politico and many others. 8/9
See the entire log #News6 obtained from @GovRonDeSantis and what it reveals about public records requested from state agencies here: clickorlando.com/news/politics/… 9/9
The log doesn’t tell the whole story. Records I requested from @FloridaDBPR were with DeSantis legal team for only 5 days, per log. But other docs show my records were “with Kim for review” at the governor’s office 2 months earlier. No explanation from @GovRonDeSantis yet.
It took 10 months for #News6 to obtain this log from @GovRonDeSantis. Coincidentally or not (DeSantis staff won’t say) it was turned over 4 days after an attorney representing @news6wkmg sent the governor’s office this message:
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