ORLANDO, Fla. – The office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has “consistently sought to safeguard” Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine open meeting and public record laws, according to Moody’s own website.
But when it comes to Governor Ron DeSantis delaying the release of certain public records requested from state agencies like the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Health – sometimes for months --- while his staff conducts a secondary review of the documents, Florida’s most powerful attorney is reluctant to share her thoughts.
“I just couldn’t comment to that,” Moody said in response to questions from News 6 about the governor’s practice.
News 6 recently uncovered internal records from DeSantis’s office revealing how the governor’s legal team occasionally adds weeks or months of delays to the release of public records from state agencies requested by citizens and journalists.
State law does not require government agencies to produce public records within a specific time frame.
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However, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that the “only delay” permitted in producing public records is the time it takes for a record custodian to retrieve the record and delete any exempt, non-public information.
“In accordance with the Governor’s duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, the Executive Office of the Governor may review the record to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the record production,” a DeSantis spokesperson told News 6 last year.
The governor’s office claims DeSantis has the authority to review public records compiled by subordinate state agencies if the governor “may have an equity” in the record “because the record includes communications with the Executive Office of the Governor, because the record concerns the Governor, or because there is reason to believe that the Governor may be asked about information in the record.”
“I think it’s illegal. Flat out illegal,” said Michael Barfield, the director of public access at the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a watchdog organization that advocates for transparent government.
“No court has ever held that the governor gets to review records of an agency,” Barfield said. “That causes an automatic delay. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that an automatic delay violates the Public Records Act.”
During a recent public appearance in Orlando, News 6 asked Moody whether she considered her office to be a champion for Florida’s open government laws.
“Well, I think the people and anyone in office would say that Government-in-the-Sunshine and those laws were put in place to make sure the folks who hired us to do these jobs, the citizens of our state, can keep track of everything that is going on in government,” said Moody. “And I hope that that is playing out. And certainly, we try to facilitate that within our office.”
News 6 then asked Moody to share her personal thoughts on the governor delaying the release of public records, sometimes for months, while his staff reviews them.
“I think that anytime an agency or an organization gets a request for public records, they take that very seriously,” replied Moody. “They want to make sure they’re thorough. They want to make sure they’re able to review those and make sure they’ve gotten everything together. It’s no small task. I can tell you; I lead the largest law firm in the state, and it’s no small task to make sure you are efficiently responding to these requests. So, I think being able to review records is customary and we would want that of our agencies.”
When a News 6 reporter clarified that the question was not about state agencies reviewing public records but rather the governor’s office delaying the release of those records, an aide to the attorney general attempted to wrap up Moody’s press availability.
“Let me just make sure, is there any other question?” Moody asked a small group of reporters attending an event during which the attorney general honored an Orlando firefighter.
When no reporters asked Moody further questions, the attorney general returned to News 6′s inquiry about the governor delaying the release of public records.
“And as for any other officer and how they handle those processes, I just couldn’t comment to that,” Moody said before stepping away from a microphone.
“Traditionally, the Attorney General has been a strong advocate of our laws,” Barfield told News 6. “It’s sad to see the Attorney General will not speak up in favor of enforcing the Public Records Act.”
Barfield believes recent laws passed by the Florida legislature restricting access to public information, including a bill that would shield the governor’s travel records, risk eroding democracy by undermining the public’s trust in government.
“I’ve been working in transparency for more than 30 years now, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Barfield. “It’s an all-out attack on the ability of our citizens to find out what their government is up to.”
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