New Legislation to Clarify Florida's Sunshine Law
Florida's Great Northwest is an economic development group that receives most of its funding from public sources. The group has claimed that it is exempt from Florida Sunshine laws, which require public entities in Florida to operate with transparency.
Other development groups in Florida also accept tax money, but claim exemption from the Sunshine Law, saying that the company negotiations they are involved in are very sensitive in nature. State Senator Don Gaetz and Representative Marti Coley have said that they will file legislation to clarify how the law applies to development groups who get their financing from both public and private sources. The legislation will seek to find a proper balance between transparency and privacy.
While Gaetz and Coley do not want to compromise sensitive negotiations, they believe that many functions of Florida's Great Northwest and other groups like it can be carried out in the sunshine without any negative effects on their businesses. The two have also asked Attorney General Bill McCollum for an opinion on whether Florida's Great Northwest should be subject to the Sunshine Law.
Florida's Great Northwest maintains that they are a private organization, not created by Florida statute that does not act on behalf of any state agencies, which means that they are not subject to the Sunshine Law. Read the full article at Bill may clarify Sunshine Law questions.
If you have any questions about how Florida statutes might affect your business, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. for legal counsel.
